As Our Kingdom Falls
by NerdcraftMC
Summary: Aleks was alone in the world. The Apocalypse had come and passed and he'd watched his friend die. Just when he thought all was lost, Aleks accidentally runs into a group of survivors intent on retreating to the mountains, a supposed safe haven. [The Creatures] {Zombie/Apocalypse AU} [Rated M. No graphic sexual content.]
1. Prolouge

**I had a really long Authors Note but I accidently deleted it... my life sucks. #FirstWorldProblems**

**So basically, this is a zombie AU. I love zombies and the Creatures so bam, mash-up. This story will be short, so expect fast progress with the plot. I've put a lot of effort into this story and I love it pieces, and it would be cool if you love it as much as me ^_^**

**As Our Kingdom Falls will contain swearing, extreme gore, gore, and no graphic sexual content. (There's a scene in a sex store but yeah, nothing graphic) Read at your own risk and don't hate on me if you can't handle it, okay? **

* * *

**AS OUR KINGDOM FALLS**

**xXPROLOUGEXx**

Who knew the world would end so quickly? Aleks had always known the world would end, but he hadn't been sure if it would happen in is lifetime. There was always the threat of nuclear bombs from Korea, Russia invading America – which might be fun for Aleks – the good old meteor strike, alien invasion, a massive earthquake and tsunami, Godzilla rising… A thousand theories for the world's end but no definite plan on what to do if it actually did. Aleks learnt that the hard way, of course. In the end, Aleks thought maybe he'd Katniss it out: learn how to use a bow, get his own fancy whistle and then have some fun. He didn't think it would come to down to carrying a hunting rifle through empty, rubble-filled streets. He thought maybe he'd run with a pack of survivors: no. He was alone and feeling the pain of it. He thought he'd have a cool Linkin Park soundtrack as he made some headshots with a sniper gun: No. he had the Linkin Park but no sniper gun, which was unfortunate. Basically, it was the Apocalypse in its most literal form. Or was the Apocalypse over? People had started rising up and munching their families on the first of April: the irony of it all never failed to amuse Aleks. He'd thought it was a joke, like most of the unfortunate people who were now dead. It only sunk in when Aleks watched a man rip his own wife open. It finally struck as cold, hard reality when he'd watched Jakey die. Aleks shuddered slightly and held his rifle tighter, his cold, red fingers clutching the stock tightly. The world as he'd known it was gone, and this world was now his reality. And it had started with, ironically, a zombie game.

* * *

Twigs, snatching away at clothes and tearing at flesh. Loud moans filling the air. Flashes of dried red splashed on wood and the puddle of fresher red in the doorway. Aleks ignored it, running inside quickly. There was a smash and Aleks's head whipped around. Hands groped aimlessly through the broken window and a face rose up, skin ripped and peeling, blackish blood oozing from an empty eye-socket. Aleks backed up against the wall, drawing his gun and aiming it squarely at the zombie. Aleks's finger tensed on the trigger and then hands exploded from the window behind him, grabbing his shoulders. Aleks cried out as he was yanked back. There was a crack and a crunch and then Aleks fell to the ground.

* * *

"Shit!" Aleks yelled, throwing his headphones off his head and letting them clatter to the ground, the wire snapping taunt. Aleks stared at the blood red words printed across his screen: GAME OVER.

"What's up?" James asked, poking his head through the doorway.

"Fricking zombie game," Aleks growled. "I can't beat it. A zombie always pops up behind me and I can't win."

"It's just a game," James said, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I'm going to head out to the store. We're out of coke. Want anything?" Aleks pursed his lips and tapped his desk aimlessly.

"Cookies," he finally said. "I feel like cookies."

"Sure," James said. "See you in a few!"

"Don't get raped!" Aleks yelled as he walked down the hallway.

"I'll try!" James yelled back. Aleks looked at the screen and bit his lip, contemplating a retry. Aleks listened to James start up his car and drive off, and Aleks reached down to grab his headphones. Only when he leaned down and the blood rushed to his head did he realise he had a thumping headache.

"Jesus Christ," Aleks moaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. Aleks picked up his headphones and put them none too gently on his desk beside his computer, turning off his monitor and collapsing on the couch. Aleks squinted at his bed and sighed.

"Too far," he mumbled, and then he slipped into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Aleks woke up to a loud bang on the front door. Aleks groaned and sat up, rubbing his head. He looked around and frowned. Everything was dark, and the thin beam of light piercing through the blinds was murky. Aleks looked towards his bedroom door and sighed, standing up and walking down the hallway to the front door of the apartment. Aleks yawned as he opened the door and then a figure bolted through, smashing into his chest and knocking him down.

"Close the fricking door!" the boy yelled. Aleks spat out curses as he kicked the door with his foot and tossed the figure off him, the door swinging shut.

"Jakey? What the hell dude?" Aleks hissed, propping himself up on his elbows as the boy, now identified as Jakey, scrambled up and slammed the door shut, pulling the locks.

"Haven't you seen what's going on?" Jakey whisper-shouted, throwing his hands up.

"Dude, I was just trying to take a damn nap-"

"It's insane out there, man!" Jakey said, helping Aleks up and pushing him down the hallway towards the kitchen.

"What's going on?" Aleks asked, confused.

"Fricking apocalypse or something! Everyone's going mad! I saw this guy who'd crashed his car and… and dude, it was sick," Jakey said, taking a great heaving breath. "He had this huge cut on his face and his wife or something was trapped in the car seat beside her and he was ripping her apart- it was horrible and… shit!" Jakey moaned, grabbing his head in his hands and sitting down heavily.

"Jesus," Aleks whispered. "James went out to the store, like…" Aleks looked at the clock. "An hour ago. I fell asleep when he left."

"Great fricking job, Aleks," Jakey snapped. "You slept through the beginning of the end of the world."

"Maybe they're filming a movie or something-" Aleks was cut off by Jakey getting up and grabbing his shirt in his fists and pushing him against the wall.

"You didn't see it man," Jakey growled. "It wasn't a movie. Guys can't shred girls to pieces. People can't crawl out of car-crashes with their arms hanging off and leap on people. You didn't hear them screaming, you didn't see the little kid- Jesus Christ, Aleks, this is real life. This isn't fake." Aleks stared at Jakey for a moment and gulped. Jakey dropped him down and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

"What do we do?" Aleks asked quietly.

"We need to get out of here but, but- shits crazy out there dude. We'll die," Jakey said, face flushed. "We should just grab some stuff and hide it out."

"What about James?"

"Well, what the hell am I meant to do about James?" Jakey yelled. "For all I know he's dead!" Aleks stopped, the breath leaving him. The thought of James – happy, sweet James – dead was too much.

"He's not dead," Aleks snapped. "He can't be dead."

"Dead people can't get up," Jakey said harshly. Silence passed between the pair and Aleks swallowed thickly.

"Well, in every apocalyptic movie, the main characters grab essential stuff, right? And then they find guns and…"

"Okay, one, we can't shoot guns. We have no experience with them. Two, I'm not shooting people. Three, this isn't the Walking Dead or some shit! We can't just go to all these fricking movies and shows and expect to survive! Most of the characters die anyway!" Jakey snapped. Aleks put a finger to his lips.

"No spoilers," he said with a crooked smile. Jakey glared at him.

"Dude! The world is ending! Do you really think that any of that matters?!" Jakey yelled.

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood!" Aleks shot back, crossing his arms. "And besides, this is America. We can just go down to Wal-Mart and buy a fricking rifle for ten bucks." Jakey ran a hand through his hair again, closing his eyes.

"Wal-Mart is being overrun by insane monsters," Jakey said softly. "We should focus on getting supplies first." Aleks nodded quickly, whirling around and opening the drawer behind him, pulling out a flash light and matches.

"Bam," he mumbled to himself. "I can hit them on the head with the flash light and then set them on fire."

"You're an idiot," Jakey groaned as he opened the pantry, pulling his backpack off his back and setting it down, jamming tinned food inside.

"Grab those cookies, will you?" Aleks said quietly. "I feel like cookies."


	2. Peaches and Zombies

**Hello Nerdians, welcome to chapter One :D**

**I'm trying a new, more descriptive style of writing with this. I wanted to experiment.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ONE: PEACHES AND ZOMBIES**

_September 16th, 2014_

Aleks sat up, breathing heavily. Jakey's screams echoed in the damp room and Aleks shuddered. He closed his eyes and rubbed his face absently, leaning back on his elbow. The world was eerily quiet, the sounds of bustling people and cars replaced with the deafening silence that enveloped the world. Aleks rose to his knees and shifted the ratty grey curtains from the grimy window, staring out into the street warily. Nothing stirred. No leaves shifted, the air was still and the only sound was the creaking floorboards beneath Aleks' knees. The apartment building Aleks was inhabiting was not his own, and he didn't know the previous owner. It was a damp, dark apartment on the middle floor with a view displaying the empty street. Despite its overall horribleness, it was in a good place and it worked for Aleks. New world, new rules. Interior decorating now meant nothing. Aleks stood up shakily, knees cracking, and stretched out. Pale, weak sunlight peered through the curtains and Aleks padded over to couch, where his bag rested. Aleks reached in and pulled out a tin of peaches, wrinkling his nose.

"Beggars can't be choosers," he mumbled to the empty room, snapping back the tab and sitting down heavily beside his bag, plunging his hand in the can and pulling out a slimy slice. He threw it in his mouth and chewed slowly, face scrunched up from the taste. Aleks sat in silence, thinking back on the past six months numbly. How long had it been since he'd witnessed Jakey die? How long had it been since he'd watched Jakey put the gun to his head and blow his own brains out? How long had it been since he'd talked to a living person? He'd arrived here in Colorado Springs three days ago and had set up his small camp, and if he was correct Jakey had died in Gallup. One thousand, four-hundred and sixty-two miles of walking from San Francisco to Colorado Springs, trying to follow the highway and avoid zombies. He'd lost Jakey four-hundred and eighty-nine miles ago.

"Miles," Aleks whispered. He hadn't been counting the days. He'd been counting the miles he'd walked to pass the time. "I'm probably going insane." Aleks studied the peach between his fingers and scowled. Jakey had loved peaches. Aleks sighed and reached into his bag, shifting things around until he found the roll of cling wrap he'd stole. Aleks balanced the can on his knee and struggled to pull off a length of it to store the can away for later. Aleks grunted and yanked it hard. It came away surprisingly easy and Aleks' elbow bumped against the can, making it topple to the left with a dull _thunk_. Aleks stared at it sullenly as the peaches slowly slid out, the juice oozing outward in a puddle of sticky liquid.

It reminded him oddly of Jakey.

* * *

Aleks sat on his pile of blankets, cross-legged, breathing shallowly. He was trying not to think, because thinking led to Jakey. Then he'd start crying and he had to make as little noise as possible. The sunlight had faded, hidden by the grey, plump clouds which poured rain heavily. It slapped the window dully, shaking it occasionally from the force. Large drops formed a suicide line at the top of the glass: the bravest dropping first to end it while others shook and quivered, hanging on for dear life until they slipped slowly. The sun was setting somewhere behind the clouds and the wind whistled through the streets, around long-since abandoned cars, the corpses of those who hadn't been able to come back, the empty and blown apart houses.

Aleks' gaze slid around the room slowly, taking in the empty room that was once filled with life. There were photo frames decorating the walls, depicting a short yet sad story: a young couple marrying. Exciting photos of a baby bump. An adorable baby growing up through photos. A second baby, a gorgeous young girl. Then suddenly, bleak photos of a father alone with two children. The photos stopped abruptly after that, leaving Aleks to imagine up his own story for them. Maybe, if this was another world, the older boy would've grown up and gone to college and become a doctor. The girl might've become a dancer. The father would've grown old without the company of his wife but his children would've visited him weekly, and more photos birthdays and weddings and babies would join the wall. But no. The Apocalypse just had to happen, and now where was this family? Probably dead. Aleks' eyes snapped open and he let out a long breath, hot tears pricking at his eyes. Jakey didn't get his wall of photos. Jakey got a poorly erected gravestone outside of Gallup. Jakey got a puddle of his blood and brains and a live infection through his veins. _Jakey_ got-

Aleks heard a bang and realised it was his hand. It as clenched in a fist and he'd slammed it down. His head was bowed forward, and his hair was hanging in front of his eyes as he stared at the ground, teeth clenched, tears dripping and landing with a soft splattering noise that echoed through the empty apartment, highlighting the fact Aleks was alone. Aleks slowly and painfully unclenched his fist, staring at the small half-moons imprinted in his palm from his nails.

"Why?" Aleks whispered to his hand, shoulders shaking. "Why?"

* * *

Aleks pressed his ear to the door, listening to the thumps and moans outside the door, breath quick as his heart pumped with fear. _They're coming. _Aleks muttered curse under his breath and backtracked quickly, socked feet slipping on the floorboards as he grabbed a chair and quietly jammed it under the doorknob. Sunlight streamed through the window as Aleks pulled a shirt on and jammed his feet in his boots, struggling to pull his jacket on. Then Aleks made a grave mistake: his arm shoot through the sleeve as it gave way randomly, thumping the wall. Aleks froze as the moans stopped, and then he heard hisses and louder steps which stopped outside the door.

_Bang._

"Shit!" Aleks yelped as the door shook, a heavy force smacking against the wooden door. Aleks grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulders, securing and pulling up his rifle and then realising the door was the only way out. He'd forgotten to check that when he'd arrived. Aleks looked around desperately as the door shuddered, scratching noises sounding along with hisses and growls. Aleks' eyes landed on the window and he bolted to it, not bothering to be quiet as he slammed the window up, the bang echoing loudly in the street. Moans filled the air and Aleks let loose another curse as he hunched over, getting one leg out and sitting straddling the window only to remember he was two stories up and all that was beneath him was cold concrete and a dumpster. Aleks' limbs locked up and he gaped. Then the door was burst off its hinges, the chair sliding across the ground and hitting the wall as two zombies stumbled in. One looked up quickly, a long string of saliva flying but not disconnecting from its bloated, grey lips. Aleks stared at its milky eyes and the peeling skin and took in a sharp breath. The zombies leapt forward, gnarled hands stretched forward and -

"трахнуть меня," Aleks mumbled, and then he was falling. The world tumbled around him and he saw a flash of his legs and then he was lying, shocked, in rubbish. His rifle was tangled up under his knee and his bag was still on his back, his water bottle jabbing up into his shoulder blade through his bag and his vision swimming. Above him the zombies clamoured out the window, the two of them stuck, arms waving wildly as they stared down at Aleks, gnashing their teeth. Aleks shook his head and rolled on his side, up on his hands and knees. His hand sunk down into the rubbish and Aleks clambered out, legs shaking, and he looked up down the street to see seven zombies stumbling down the street. They seemed like old zombies, and they were more shambling then running. The older zombies didn't run, they shuffled. The newer zombies sprinted. Aleks swore again and reached into the dumpster and grabbed the rifle and then stumbled a few steps before breaking into a run. As he ran he checked the gun was loaded and then unhooked the strap and slung it under his neck and under his shoulder. _Note to self: Always wear the rifle strap. _Aleks pumped his arms and scanned the road ahead, seeing one zombie missing a leg crawling out of an upturned car and moaning pitifully. Aleks veered sharply to the left to avoid it and nearly tripped on a rolling can of coke. His shoe connected and it flew across the ground, clanging loudly before crashing against a trash can. The noise echoed and frenzied snarls erupted, older zombies crawling, stumbling, and falling out of the smashed storefronts and from under cars. Aleks paled and ran faster, swerving between the rotting zombies as they grabbed at his clothes. One popped up right in front of him and Aleks didn't stop, swinging the gun around and smacking the zombie in the face with the butt of the gun. The weakened muscles and bones were smashed to pieces, and the zombie reeled back and Aleks kept running, ignoring the blood and mess clinging to the gun.

Aleks sprinted down the road until the houses stopped and he was on the highway. The zombies fell back but Aleks continued, simply unable to stop. He ran until he slowed to a walk, until he was stumbling and dragging his aching feet, until he had collapsed on his hands and knees panting. All was silent, and Aleks stared down at the tarmac before closing his eyes, arms shaking before they gave way, sending him to the ground with his legs crushed awkwardly beneath him.

"Well," Aleks mumbled to the ground. "This hurts." Aleks let out a long breath and forced himself up on his elbows, bringing his legs up beneath him and then standing. He winced and rubbed his knees, the bones burning with pain from his relentless run. Aleks pulled his bag off his back and unzipped it, reaching in and pulling out his water bottle. He drank it quickly but sparingly, looking down the dark and destroyed road.

"Denver's that way," he muttered. "I could cut past the air base instead of following the highway… but there could be zombies in the woods. Geez, what am I going to do?" Aleks bit his lip, pulled a face, and then put his bottle away and slung the backpack onto his shoulders, holding his gun securely in his hands.

Aleks took a deep breath and then started down the road.

* * *

**I had to have Russian swear words. I have no regrets.**

**ANYWAYS I hope you enjoyed, feedback is much appreciated and don't forget to follow and favourite and check out my other work.**

**BYE!**


	3. Marshmallows and Comics

**Hello Nerdians! Welcome to another chapter! It's a bit weak but As Our Kingdom Falls isn't really my main focus at the moment, so expect slow updates. **

**There are two (well, technically three) Easter Eggs in here. If you find them, tell me in a review. You'll only spot them if you've read Fallen and Broken ;)**

**P.S I got a twitter and all that jazz, the link is in my profile. GO LOVE AND FOLLOW IT FOR STORY UPDATES AND STUFF!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: MARSHMALLOWS AND COMICS**

_September 18th, 2014_

Twenty hours and five minutes of walking. Four hours of sleep in a broken down Winnebago with a large cooler blocking the door. Sixty-one point seven miles from Colorado Springs to some town outside of Denver. Aleks was exhausted. His legs were aching, his two water bottles were nearly empty and he was craving sugar. Inspection of the abandoned, smashed cars by the side of the road had let up spare ammunition, a few hungry zombies and a jumbo bag of Marshmallows. Said bag of Marshmallows was now half empty. Aleks plunged his hand into the plastic packet once again, pulling up a fistful of marshmallows and jamming them in his mouth excitedly.

"Sugar," Aleks mumbled around the mouthful. "It's been too long." Aleks craned his neck to look further up the empty road. There was a town coming up, and from the signs Aleks had been reading it was Littleton, a suburb outside of Denver… or town, whatever it was. It didn't matter. Colorado State Park was on his left, and Aleks could hear distant groans emitting from the trees. He veered to the right slightly, just to be safe, eyes wandering. His rifle was slung under his arm on the strap, and his backpack was still on his shoulders, straining at his tired muscles. Aleks heard a small groan directly on his right and jumped with a yelp, dropping his bag of marshmallows as he frantically pulled his gun around, pointing it shakily at the overturned car.

"My marshmallows!" Aleks said indignantly as they spilt out of the bag. "God dammit, they were really good!" the zombie moaned in reply and Aleks stared at it, squinting. It was a girl who may have been pretty before, one leg trapped under the car. The zombie had pretty, light blonde hair falling out in clumps and cloudy blue eyes, in a torn red hood and stained blue jeans. Aleks might have thought she was hot if a chunk of skin was not missing from her cheek and weeping sores and scratches covered her pale arms.

"Do you want me to shoot you?" Aleks whispered, squatting down with his gun across his knees. "Will that help you?" The zombie moaned pitifully, one misty eye swivelling towards Aleks while the other rolled loosely in the eye socket. She outstretched her clawed hand and swiped weakly at Aleks, trying to pry her leg free and reach Aleks. Aleks was about to shoot its skill when she heard a loud hiss. Aleks yelped and fell backwards as another zombie sprang out from within the car, snarling. Aleks scrambled up and fired wildly, the bullet flying wide.

The zombie – another girl who could've been cute, which was really unfortunate - had almost red eyes and short black hair, a large wound in her head revealing bits of smashed skull and blood and torn flesh. Her red shirt was ripped and showed ribs jutting through her flesh, and a bone poked through her brown slacks. She snarled, nails clicking, and leapt forward again. Aleks batted her aside and fired again. She fell, bleeding thick black from her stomach, and Aleks marched up and stood over her, glaring down the barrel of the gun and firing a bullet straight into her skull. She slumped and blood oozed out slowly from the bullet wound, a thick river leaking at a snail pace, nothing to pump the blood.

"You made me drop my marshmallows," Aleks growled. Aleks looked over at the blonde zombie, who stared up at him with wide eyes. "Well… it was mainly you." Aleks sighed as he walked back over to her, reloading his gun swiftly.

"I think… I know you can't do any harm, trapped under her, but still. I would feel bad if you hurt someone. And… I don't like the feeling of leaving you. I don't know if you're still alive in there," Aleks chuckled drily. "I'm talking to a dead thing that tried to eat me. Or living thing. God, I don't know." She growled and swiped again, and Aleks squeezed the trigger. She fell on her chest; arms splayed wide, a neat hole in her head. Aleks was slowly getting to be a better shot, which would come in handy, but that didn't really matter because –

"God dammit, I'm never going to be able to find marshmallows ever again!" he groaned. "That was all my sugar!" Aleks stared mournfully at the burst packet and the fluffy white squares strewn carefully across the debris-covered road and sighed.

"I need to stop dropping my food," he mumbled. Casting one final look at the two dead girls, Aleks continued his walk.

* * *

Everything was going fine and dandy until Aleks discovered that car alarms last for a very long time.

It happened when he saw a zombie shambling through a street right when he entered Littleton. It was an old zombie, mostly decayed and unable to move faster than a shuffle. Yet it still gave Aleks a heart attack when it came casually stumbling out of the Target at the end of the street. Aleks tripped on his own feet in a mad scramble to dive behind a car and, being the genius he is, body-slammed the hood of the car. Immediately, a shrill squeal broke the silent air and Aleks groaned. The zombie's head swivelled sharply to the left to stare at Aleks, the bones cracking from the sudden movement, and it began its slow stumble towards the noise, moaning loudly. Three relatively new zombies poured out of the store, looking around before their hungry gazes locked on Aleks. They sprinted quickly towards Aleks and Aleks swore, scrambling up and running back down the street, turning right and running. The car alarm echoed and moans rose up, zombies in various stages of decay coming from their hiding places to attack.

Aleks swung his rifle around, holding it up and shaking it in the direction of the zombies. One leapt in front of him, snarling, and Aleks fired. The butt of the rifle recoiled and smacked his stomach but the zombie was knocked back, a chunk of its arm blown off. Aleks yelped as claws swiped dangerously close to his face, twisting painfully in an almost-twirl to avoid it. Aleks made a few turns to lose the zombies and dashed into the nearest store, slamming the door shut and diving behind a rack. Aleks crouched there, breathing heavily, gun cradled in his arms, peering through a gap. The store was dimly lit and dust and books covered the ground. Aleks sat back as the zombies and their moaning grew quieter, relief flooding his veins.

"Jesus," he sighed. He looked up at the rack in front of him and smiled thinly when he saw it was a row of comic books. He reached out and grabbed the closet one, studying the glossy and bright design. It was full of action and Aleks could barely follow it all. A man with purple wings and a long tail running dramatically through the rain, fear displayed on his features, a large grey building which looked like a prison behind him. A girl in red with a bow out on a rearing horse aiming at the man and a boy and a girl with swords out on the dragon man's right. Aleks set it back down and sighed, rubbing his forehead. His throat was parched and he was suddenly exhausted from his run, all adrenaline drained. Aleks started to lean back and relax when he heard a low, long moan from behind him. Aleks froze, limbs stiff.

"Of course," he mumbled. The moaning stopped and Aleks looked slowly at his rifle. He heard small shuffling noise behind him and the sound of a rack being shifted. Aleks waited, and then let out a small squeak as a zombie in a uniform stumbled past the aisle. It was old and didn't hear Aleks, continuing to wander past. Aleks grabbed the rifle slowly and attempted to stand up silently, but Aleks forgot racks aren't stable. It started to fall back and Aleks let out a yell as he went back with it. The zombie's head spun around slowly and it stared at Aleks, who was sprawled over the rack with comics surrounding him. It moaned loudly and turned slowly, stumbling over. Aleks swore and fumbled for the rifle and in the process slapping himself in the face. The zombie lunged and Aleks shot it with a yell. Blood spayed backwards from the right side of its chest and it was thrown off balance, falling to the ground and twitching feebly. Aleks stood up, heart pumping, and shot it one more time for good measure.

"Today isn't a good day," Aleks said to the body with an angry sigh. Aleks looked up and paled a few shades when he realised that yelling and shooting was bad. Zombies were running down the street and Aleks yelped as one flung itself at the glass windows with a loud thump and a crack. Aleks turned tail quickly and ran to the back of the store, sidestepping a mangled body and the rack the zombie had knocked down and diving behind the counter.

"Too many to shoot out," Aleks mumbled, staring as they slammed repeatedly at the window with loud growls and snarls. Aleks looked over his shoulder and saw the one silver lining in his grey hell with a wide smile. Hidden behind a variety of comic book posters and advertisements was a door, which would hopefully lead into a break room. Aleks could barricade it and wait it out until the zombies lost interest. Aleks sprung up and ran to the door, grabbing the dusty handle and yanking it open, flinging himself through it and slamming it shut behind him as he heard the glass shatter. Aleks let out a deep breath of relief before realising he wasn't in a break room. He was standing in a back alley.

"My luck today is just fantastic!" Aleks yelled, hands forming fists. "Jesus Christ, give me something good!" Aleks started to walk down the alley, rifle swung around in his hands and clutching it tightly. Aleks reached the end and peaked out into the street, feeling his shoulders relax when he realised it was clear. Aleks started to walk out into the street and was about to sling his rifle back when it dawned on him how many zombies this town actually had, because about twenty of them where walking towards him right now.

"Damn."


	4. The March of the Rotting

**Heyo Nerdians! I'm back from my holiday perfectly alive and ready to give you some As Our Kingdom Falls! I don't know how many chapters of this I wrote in my free time, so get ready for a mess of updates!**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE: THE MARCH OF THE ROTTING**

_September 18th, 2014_

The front zombie looked up, letting out a puzzled moan. It stared quizzically at Aleks, a long line of blood-speckled drool oozing from its dislocated jaw. The zombies behind him gnashed their teeth in anger and started to stumble forward, a sight which would've been amusing but was instead terrifying. One was limping, the left leg dragging behind him, and when he tumbled he knocked down two other zombies, which thrashed their arms out comically and dragged down three others. The other zombies weren't deterred, increasing speed forward, breaking into a run. Aleks turned tail and ran once again, panting and realising he had a massive stitch in his side.

"Need to hide," Aleks gasped, the moans growing in pitch and the footsteps getting louder. Then, of course, Aleks tripped. He tumbled head over heels and sprawled painfully on his back, spine arching as he let out a cry of pain. His fists clenched and he gritted his teeth through the pain, sure he'd pulled something or broken something important. His rifle strap had broken and was lying a few meters away, and Aleks turned his head to see the zombies fast approaching. _I'm done, god dammit, I'm done. _Aleks screwed his eyes shut and reached blindly to the left, trying to roll onto his stomach so he could reach his gun. Aleks stretched out his fingers, pain shooting up and down his back, nowhere near close enough to grab the gun. _Shit. _Aleks closed his eyes and flopped against the ground weakly, ready to give up. _Here I come, Jakey. _Then there was a loud cracking noise, surprisingly not his bones. Aleks opened one eye slightly and saw a pair of black boots in his face.

"Get up," a voice said gruffly. Aleks looked up and saw a dishevelled man pointing a shotgun in his face. Aleks' eyes widened and he struggled to rise, wanting to grab the guy's leg to try and haul himself up. Aleks finally fell back down, knocking the breath out of himself.

"I can't do it," he whimpered. The man swore lightly and leaned down, slinging his shotgun over his shoulder and grabbing Aleks' arm. He grunted and heaved him up without ceremony and Aleks cried out. _Is he an angel? Am I dead? Why is his hair so long? _

"Incoming!" another voice yelled. Aleks' rescuer looked up as another man came sprinting in. He had spikey black hair, wild eyes hidden behind glasses and a wide smile on his face. Ammunition belts criss-crossed his chest and he held two small handguns, a knife tucked in his belt. Basically, he looked terrifying, and as he ran past Aleks was glad that he didn't have his guns pointed at him.

"God dammit," Aleks' mystery man muttered. Still holding Aleks' bicep none too gently, he started to tug him along, breaking out into a run and forcing Aleks into it as well as his back ached. Aleks heard the other man whoop excitedly behind them and then gunshots, short and sharp, burst out. Aleks flinched with every shot, nearly tripping over his own feet as they weaved between crashed cars and skipped over dead bodies. The man cut into an alley suddenly, nearly sending Aleks tumbling, and then he was sprinting down another street, over a car's hood, under a collapsed billboard and across a grassy field and a fence and then the man finally let Aleks collapse.

"Jordan! Get Steven out here with the medical!" the man yelled, somehow not out of breath. Aleks continued to lie there, panting, pain exploding across his back at random times. The man tapped his foot impatiently, occasionally shooting a glance at Aleks. Then a ridiculously tall man in a battered red cap appeared at the back door, sliding it open and ushering a much shorter man out.

"Who's this?" the tall man, presumably Jordan, asked pleasantly. The shorter man clutching a medical kit to his chest – Steven, most likely – rushed over, dropping beside Aleks and rolling him on his back.

"Bites?" he asked, grabbing Aleks' arm and yanking it up, shoving down the sleeve and examining his arm, turning it roughly. "Cuts? Infections? Bruises?" He grabbed Aleks' shirt and jerked it up, exposing his stomach and a part of his chest. "Blood or stab wounds and excessive bleeding?"

"What the hell?!" Aleks snapped, shoving his arm away. "No! I just pulled a muscle or something!" The man frowned, sitting back and stroking the red box thoughtfully.

"Then what am I doing out here?" he pondered aloud. His eyes wandered before snapping back down Aleks, a small weary smile brightening his face. "Hi, by the way. I'm Steven." He said, his voice softer. Aleks opened his mouth to reply but shut it quickly. _Is he mental? _Steven extended a hand and helped Aleks up, and Aleks jerked away from him quickly. _Insanity might be catching._

"Seamus," the tall man said calmly, "Please explain this. Who is he and what is he doing here?"

"It was Eddie's own stupid fuckin' idea!" Aleks' saviour – Seamus - spat angrily. "He's gonna get us killed!"

"But we survived, didn't we?" a voice questioned. Everyone turned and stared at the man, Eddie, sitting on the fence, wiping his knife off on his t-shirt. "A nice clean job, and not a single guy followed me back. They were mainly Oldies with a few Biters mixed in, simple and quick. And we saved this idiot here." He ended his sentence with a giggle and Aleks stared at him oddly.

"What's an Oldie? And a Biter? And who are you?" Aleks asked in confusion. I have no idea what the hell is going on."

"Come inside," Jordan said with a smile. "We can explain everything."

"We're just letting him in?" Seamus yelled, whirling around and facing Jordan. "What if he's infected? We already know what happens when you leave them unchecked! You watched it happen to your own god damned-"

"Seamus!" Jordan snapped, eyes clouding.

"Um, I already checked him," Steven chimed in helpfully. "He's completely and totally clean. He only hurt his back, possibly a muscle injury. I could clear it up easily."

"Thank you, Steven," Jordan said, looking away from Seamus, his smile looking slightly forced. "If you'd like to come on in with us, mysterious stranger, we can give you something to eat and shed some… light on recent events." Aleks nodded wearily and followed the taller man through the sliding doors, Steven behind him and Eddie and Seamus trailing. Jordan waited for everyone to file in before closing the door, flicking numerous locks and drawing the curtain.

"Dan!" Jordan yelled. "We have a guest!" Steven gently grabbed Aleks' arm and guided him along from the small back room and down a hall to a wide living space with an attached kitchen. A slightly overweight male stood beside a taller, leaner man as they shifted through stacked cans of food methodically. The shorter, larger man smiled happily while the taller one narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Who's this faggot? He literally looks like a faggot," the taller one sneered with a noticeable accent. British, maybe.

"No wonder he reminded me of your mum!" Eddie giggled as he skipped in from behind them, dragging Seamus along. Aleks stood there, slack-jawed, taking in the cleanliness of the room. There were two mismatched couches, one with floral print and one with stripes, and two armchairs. A lit fireplace gave the room a homely warmth and framed pictures on the walls reflected the glow dimly. A black, dusty TV was pushed against the wall on its cabinet, the glass doors showing a wealth of DVDs. The walls were painted a cream colour and Aleks noticed the paint was chipping in one place, like it had been scraped or scrubbed to the point. Then Aleks noticed the oddly thrown rug and the dark stain seeping out from under it. Aleks backpedalled until he was up against the well-painted walls, wishing he had his rifle.

"You aren't going to murder me, are you?" Aleks asked quickly. Steven laughed quickly, a short burst that ended as fast as it started. Eddie raised an eyebrow, Seamus face-palmed and the tall British one snorted.

"God, a faggot _and_ a retard," he chuckled. "What's Eddie dragged in now? Where'd you find him, the mental asylum? Does he have a collar so we can take him back?" Aleks scowled, pushing himself off the wall.

"How about you shut up, you bitch?" Aleks retorted. The taller one's face darkened and he took a step forward menacingly.

"You wanna tell me that again, you little f-"

"Whoa, bad boy! Calm down!" Eddie laughed, jumping in front of him from seemingly nowhere.

"Did little baby Dex not take his meds?" Seamus muttered from his spot on the couch, arms crossed.

"How about we all calm down a bit and introduce ourselves? Our guest looks a bit… overwhelmed," Jordan said. He gestured for Aleks to take a seat in the armchair and Aleks moved slowly, sitting down carefully. Everyone except the British boy and bigger man took a seat on the couches, Jordan sitting in the other armchair.

"What's your name?" Jordan asked.

"Aleks," he replied carefully. "With a ks instead of an x."

"Where you with anyone else we need to know about, Aleks?" Jordan questioned, and Aleks shook his head. Jordan nodded and then motioned to the rest of his group with his friends. "Well then. Welcome to our humble abode," he said, half-joking. "I'll let everyone introduce themselves."

"I'm Eddie!" Eddie chirped, grabbing Seamus' wrist and yanking it up. "And this grouchy son of a bitch is Seamus." Seamus grunted and pulled his arm back, crossing them tighter.

"I already said who I am," Steven said self-consciously. "Do… do I need to do it again?"

"Nah dude, you're cool," Eddie said, patting his arm comfortingly. Steven nodded and sank back into the couch further.

"Well I'm Dan," the larger man piped up, stepping out of the kitchen. "I go by many names, like That Fat Guy, Son of a Bitch, God and Dick." Eddie giggled into his palm and Seamus rolled his eyes, tugging his beanie down. Dan looked back expectantly at the British guy and he turned away, sorting through his cans. Dan sighed.

"That's Dex. He used up his daily dose of friendly and now he's in the stage where he calls everyone a faggot," Dan explained. Dex muttered 'faggot' under his breath and Dan smiled in Aleks' direction, his point proven.

"And I'm Jordan," he said. "I sit around and pretend I'm important."

"He's a lazy asshole but he's our lazy asshole," Eddie said affectionately. Jordan laughed and Eddie suddenly turned serious for the first time since Aleks had walked in.

"Nah, he's actually a really good guy," Eddie said. "He organises us, makes sure we have food – because Seamus goes batshit crazy when he's hungry – and this is his house. I've been friends with him for as long as I'm willing to remember and he took us in when shit hit the fan a while back." Satisfied with his little speech, Eddie leaned back in the seat and looked over at Dan, who chose to take over.

"We've been here for a while," Dan explained. "Most of the smart people made a dash for the mountains when news hit about the coasts going down. A few idiots – like us – stayed behind, some because they felt obligated or they had families or, in our case, they didn't think anything was really going to happen. But then my sister dropped out and I got worried, so we all called around. We decided to meet up the next day but when we woke up…" Dan stopped and looked down, shuffling his feet. Almost everyone's eyes swivelled to the dark stain partially hidden by the rug.

"Total chaos," Jordan said, leaning forward. "The phone lines were out, half the town was in the dark, the water was messed up and… outside, all you could hear was screaming and crying. Cars were crashing and fires were starting and it was horrible. We lost a lot of friends but we managed to stay alive when we grouped up. We're lucky."

"Lucky my ass!" Dex spat. "Losing your family and friends is not lucky!"

"Dex," Dan sighed. Dex looked like he would continue but instead he stopped, biting his lip and looking out the window angrily.

"You're probably wondering about… about the stain," Eddie said softly. "I saw you looking."

"Nick," Steven whimpered. Eddie tapped Steven's knee and he looked away, face contorting like he would cry.

"Nick was our friend," Jordan said. "He driving here with his girlfriend Ali from the next town to meet up with us but he crashed. Ali died and… she came back. We made it to Nick but Ali had already bitten him. That was on the third day." Jordan fell silent.

"Nick's dead," Seamus said plainly. "We bought him back and he caught a fever. He was shaking and crying and his arm swelled up. He was in and out of it, muttering. He died that night right there and we couldn't do jackshit to help him." Seamus' foot nudged the carpet and shifted it, showing more of the blood. Aleks swallowed thickly and Steven whimpered again.

"We've all lost someone at this point. Nick's just another body now," Dex said harshly. Eddie glared at him as a tear slid down Steven's cheek, splattering on the red case he still held close.

"Why don't you go check the water supplies, Dex?" Dan suggested. Dex muttered a few curses under his breath as he pushed off the counter, circling around the counter and disappearing down the hall.

"Like I said. Daily dose of friendly," Dan said hollowly.

"I know it's a personal question, Aleks, but did you lose anyone? At first or later or…" Jordan's fist clenched from its resting spot on the arm of the chair. "Loss is a good glue and grieving is a good way to remind yourself that you're still human." Aleks immediately thought to James as he left through the front to get cookies. Jakey sobbing and then the gun, the gun Aleks had given to him so he could shoot himself through the head and… Aleks realised he was holding his breath. He let it out slowly, looking over at Jordan.

"No, I haven't lost anyone. I never got close to anyone and my family is in a different country," Aleks said, shrugging. "I… I guess you could say I'm lucky."

"Lucky," Steven echoed. Jordan pursed his lips, studying Aleks' face for a moment. And then he nodded, slowly, like he knew Aleks was lying.

"Huh," he said. He started to speak when Dex called out urgently.

"Guys," he said. "We have an issue." Everyone rose up quickly and Aleks saw Eddie's hand go to his belt and Seamus' hand reach over his shoulder for the shotgun holstered there. Steven reached behind the couch and grabbed a long hockey stick with nails punched through it and Dan grabbed a gun from his hip. Everyone was suddenly armed and dangerous and it startled Aleks. _They had so many opportunities to kill me. Why wouldn't they?_

"Ladies first," Dan said, gesturing to the door. Steven stood, holding his hockey stick nervously as he walked down the hall. Then Jordan, then Dan, then Seamus – who made sure he glared at Aleks before he left. Only Eddie was left standing there with him, and they both gazed at the rug silently. Finally, Eddie nudged it back in place with the heel of his boot and cast a smile at Aleks.

"Let's go," he said. He turned and started to walk.

"Wait!" Aleks blurted. Eddie stopped and looked at him over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. "I…" Aleks rubbed his arm nervously. "Thanks for saving me back there. I don't really think that Seamus guy wanted to but… yeah." Aleks finished lamely. Eddie shrugged, still smiling.

"We have to look out for each other in the big dangerous world," he said, chuckling softly. "We don't own it anymore. I was just doing the right thing." Aleks smiled and Eddie bobbed his head before walking off, leaving Aleks to trail behind. Eddie disappeared around a corner and up a staircase, and Aleks followed. Everyone was clamoured around a window, weapons sheathed for now.

"They never come down this road," Dan fretted. "What brought them here so suddenly?"

"Hey, is that Mrs Fareling?" Jordan murmured. "She used to steal my newspapers."

"Maybe Eddie was a bit too loud," Seamus growled, casting a glare at him. Eddie shrugged, smirking.

"Loud," Steven whispered. Aleks inched away from him, frowning. _Well he's lost it._

"They aren't stopping out the front and from the looks of it, they're all Oldies," Dex said. "They don't know we're here. Besides, the suns going down and maybe they're moving to the forest."

"Closer to the mountains," Eddie said. "I hope everyone's safe." Aleks craned his neck to look up and over the group, and he bit back a gasp. A long line of zombies stumbled down the road, their moans a saddening song that filled the darkening sky. Birds chirped in time and Aleks watched mournfully. _They might know some of these people. _He felt sick to his stomach. The march of rotting corpses continued until they disappeared into the trees and everyone broke away from the window. Jordan sighed and then clapped his hands, a smile brightening his face.

"Aleks can sleep on the couch and me and Dan will take first watch," he said. "Good night, everybody." Everyone murmured in response, walking away into their respective rooms and leaving Aleks alone and lost on the balcony until Dan called his name. Aleks turned and walked down the stairs quickly, missing his rifle but feeling somewhat safe in the house. Sure, Steven seemed partially insane, Dex and Seamus hated his guts for no apparent reason and Jordan was terrifying with his little mood swings but they seemed like a family.

And Aleks missed that feeling more than he missed his marshmallows.


	5. An Ordinary Day

**CHAPTER FOUR: AN ORDINARY DAY**

_September 19th, 2014_

"So why exactly do you have names for the zombies?" Aleks asked Eddie as he cleaned off his knives.

"Because zombie is so 2013," Eddie said, rolling his eyes. "We wanted to be creative." Aleks frowned and didn't speak, watching Eddie skilfully wash dried blood and guts off his blades in the bucket of water.

"What were the names again?"

"Oldies and Biters. Oldie was more creative than Biters but… Dan was probably drunk," Eddie said with a shrug. "So Oldies are the older, more decomposed zombies. Biters are the newer zombies that run freakishly fast." Aleks nodded, storing away his words for later use.

"Oldies," Aleks said. The word sounded stupid. How long ago had it been just him and James, mocking the elderly people at Walmart? Since when had the term Oldies gone from describing the fragile, grumpy elderly folk to the warning call for the horrifying monsters that had ruined the world?

"That's right. Congratulations. Gold star for this guy right here, he can speak English," Seamus said sarcastically while he ran through his ammo packs.

"Whoa dude, what crawled up your ass and died this morning?" Eddie chuckled.

"Probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed," Seamus muttered.

"Like yesterday?" Eddie prompted.

"Yeah." Seamus said gruffly.

"And the day before?"

"Yes."

"And before that?"

"Eddie."

"And even before that?"

"Edwin, I swear to god."

"And before that…"

"Eddie, shut up."

"And even after that?"

"Eddie!" Seamus yelled. Eddie burst out laughing and Aleks cracked a smile. Seamus huffed and shoved the packets away, glaring at him poisonously.

"One of these days I think I'm going to shoot you in the foot," he mumbled.

"You love me too much," Eddie replied sweetly.

"I do not, you gay asshole," Seamus snapped. Eddie puckered his lips and leaned forward, reaching his arms out in his direction.

"Eddie!" Seamus shouted, shoving him away.

"Kiss me, Seamus!" Eddie yelled over his curses. Eddie fell over the bucket and grabbed Seamus' foot, tugging him closer. Seamus kicked him in the face none to gently and scrambled up, face red hot. Eddie laughed hysterically, holding his nose and muffling his voice. His laugh sounded ridiculous and Aleks couldn't help but laugh. Seamus swung around and glared at him, and Aleks covered his mouth, widening his eyes innocently.

"I hate you all," Seamus announced, walking out of the room.

"He's so stupid," Eddie sighed, flopping on his back with a thin trickle of blood leaking out of his nose.

"Are you okay dude?" Aleks asked in concern. "Your nose is bleeding."

"He kicks me in the face all the time," Eddie said nonchalantly, waving his hand. "It's a love-hate relationship." Aleks didn't know whether to be worried or laugh, so he just picked up one of Eddie's knives and started to wash it off. _There's something soothing about washing off dried blood, _Aleks thought. _It's repetitive. It's easy. It's… calming. _Eddie sat up and wiped the blood from his nose before picking up another knife as well and joining Aleks in the smooth motion of wipe, dunk, wipe, dunk and dry.

"How many knives do you have?" Aleks sighed.

"About ten. This one is a kitchen knife," Eddie said proudly, holding it up. "My mum gave it to me in a set and I liked it. It's pretty, the way the light kinda bounces off it." Aleks frowned and tilted his head, studying the blade.

"I don't see anything special about it," Aleks said.

"Because we're inside, dumbass!" Eddie laughed. "The only light doesn't even work and we aren't near the window." They continued in silence for a little while longer until Aleks deemed it awkward.

"So…" he said, trailing off. "What's the deal with Steven? He doesn't seem… all there." Eddie's face softened and he sighed, setting his knife to the side.

"He was coming here with his friend, Jamie. They got caught up in the back of a chemist and were trapped there for a day, listening to the Biters moaning and banging against the wall. They finally found the keys and got out through the back into the alley, but there was a Sleeper up against the wall. The assumed it was dead and passed too close…" Eddie stopped, shaking his head. "It grabbed Jamie and pulled him down. Steven couldn't fight it off and all he could do was watch as his friend got eaten alive. The sounds, watching it… it messed him up on some deep level. He's retreated so far inside himself we don't even know if he's listening half the time. But he designated himself as the first aid guy so I think he's trying to make up for not being able to save Jamie."

"Oh," Aleks said softly. "That's… hard."

"We've all seen death now," Eddie said sadly. "Most of us have built up a defence it but… Jesus, Steven's the youngest of us all. He's never been exposed it and even just videogame gore freaked him out. Seeing it first hand and on his best friend… it would really shake you up, you know?" Aleks nodded, thinking of Jakey. The gunshot echoed in his head and for a moment, all he could see was Jakey slumped on the road and his brains and blood splattered across the road. Aleks contemplated for a moment telling Eddie about Jakey and James but decided against it.

"What's your story?" Eddie asked suddenly. "You haven't really had time to tell us about yourself." Aleks hesitated and Eddie watched him carefully for any signs.

"I travelled here by myself," Aleks said, choosing his words slowly. "I lived on the coast, where the infection hit first. It was chaos." Eddie nodded, waiting for more. Aleks just shrugged. "I guess that's it. Nothing much happened. I just had to avoid the zombies. I didn't have a sense of direction or anything; I just followed the road and managed to end up here." Eddie frowned, noticing his lack of information.

"Huh, okay," he said. "I was expecting something pretty grand, seeing as you held your own for a while. You were shooting like crazy when me and Seamus heard you." Aleks shrugged, attempting to look modest.

"Luck," he muttered. "Just a whole heap of unwanted luck."

* * *

"If you're gonna be staying here, you'll need to do some work," Jordan said, eyeing Aleks. "You can haul some water with Dex today or sort the ammo with Seamus, or cook with Dan."

"I'll cook with Dan," Aleks said quickly. Seamus and Dex hated him passionately, and getting stuck with them for work wouldn't be fun. Jordan nodded and pointed down the hall, to the joint living room and kitchen.

"Right. He's down there," Jordan said. "Have fun." Aleks bobbed his head and turned, walking down the hallway quickly and walking around the counter to Dan, who was stirring something on the stove.

"Pretty miraculous that Jordan could hook up the kitchen to his generator," Dan stated, not turning and making Aleks jump. "You picked work with me, I take it?"

"Um, yep," Aleks said. "What do you want me to do?"

"You can knead that if you like or sort through the cans, arranging them through expiration date," Dan said, checking the temperature of whatever he was stirring.

"I… I'll do the bread?" Aleks said, more of a question. Dan nodded, smiling, and Aleks walked over to it and stared forcefully at it. _Knead yourself. Um… oh great and mighty bread Gods? Or at least tell me how to knead._

"How about you sort and I do the bread?" Dan said, chuckling. Aleks sighed and nodded, shifting back and letting Dan take over. _What a great help I am._

* * *

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Dex demanded. "You're doing it – oh Jesus Christ, get out of the way and let me do it!" Dex shoved Aleks aside and he felt his cheeks go red.

"What, is there a set way for putting water bottles in a fridge?" Aleks snapped.

"Yes, you fat wad of shit! You put it so the caps are on the outside to grab it easier, and you lay them on their sides in a pyramid so you can fit more in, not like… like whatever the hell you're doing!"

"Well you could've told me!" Aleks huffed.

"Not like it would get through that thick head of yours anyway," Dex muttered. "Faggot."

"I thought you were meant to have your daily dose of nice, you prick," Aleks spat.

"Looks like your dumbass face drained it all out of me!" Dex yelled, throwing his hands up.

"Oh, you were looking at my face? How fricking sweet!" Aleks yelled back.

"You son of a bitch, you're getting on my last nerve!"

"Are you capable of a human emotion other than dickhead?"

"I swear to god I will grind your face into the wall-"

"Like you'd even get a hand on me!"

"Stop acting like you're the only one who went through shit, you self-absorbed dick!" Dex yelled, shoving Aleks hard in the chest and sending him stumbling back. "Acting like you're all high and mighty when you just waltz in here, all like 'oh, look at me! I'm Aleks with ks instead of an x'!" Dex said in a poor, high-pitched imitation of his voice.

"How about you just shut up?" Aleks demanded.

"As if you could make me!" Dex yelled. "It's not such a big fricking deal that you managed to come up here alone! And that whole 'lucky' thing that you didn't have friends? Bullshit! I know you lost someone, you can see it in your god damned eyes!"

"Shut up!"

"We can read you like a book, Mr Aleks with a ks instead of an x," Dex hissed. "You ain't fooling anybody."

"What about you, then?" Aleks snapped. "Trying to come off like you're all tough and strong when you're just acting like the gay overlord of all your gay little British friends!"

"Where did you even pull that sentence from, your asshole?"

"Same place they pulled your mother out of!"

"Don't you dare even bring my mother into this you little f-"

"The whole house can hear you having a hissy fit," Seamus said drily, suddenly appearing in the doorway. "If you're on your man-period, shove a tampon up your dick and get the hell over it."

"How about you butt out, Fabio?" Dex yelled, clenching his fists.

"Wow, how original," Seamus said, rolling his eyes. "Like I haven't heard the Fabio joke ten thousand times before."

"How about you actually fight for once, then?" Dex said. "Stop hiding behind your pussy shotgun and get in the thick of it, and then we'll see where your cockiness goes!"

"The reason I use my shotgun is because I'm not suicidal," Seamus said plainly. "Fighting from a distance and not risking a hand is safer than diving in."

"Not like you have anything to lose, your dick dropped off years ago," Dex sneered. Seamus sighed and rubbed his forehead, seemingly unfazed.

"I don't even want to know what you're doing out there if you're at risk of getting your dick eaten. I know you had no luck with actual living girls, so stop trying to have sex with a zombie. You might get AIDS," Seamus said with a sweet smile. Dex's jaw dropped and Aleks laughed into his palm, glad to see Dex get taken down a peg. Then Seamus' cool eyes turned on Aleks.

"And you. Stop trying to piss everyone off with your innocent little boy bullshit," he said coldly. "You're just irritating the living shit out of half of us. If you're gonna be staying here for god knows how long, pick up your crap and get into it." Aleks nodded obediently and Seamus turned, leaving the room as swiftly as he'd come.

"I hate that prick," Dex muttered.

"At least we can agree on one thing."


	6. The Skies Darken

**CHAPTER FIVE: THE SKIES DARKEN**

_September 20th, 2014_

"We're off!" Eddie yelled in a sing-song voice, grabbing Aleks' wrist and jerking him out into the backyard.

"Have fun and don't die!" Dan yelled back.

"And only grab the stuff we put on the list!" Jordan added.

"Hurry up," Seamus sighed. "The Oldies come out early and who knows how many Biters are crawling out."

"I wonder what could've caused that?" Eddie said innocently.

"Some idiot's shoot-em up act," Seamus said, sharing his glare between Eddie and Aleks. They shrugged simultaneously and Seamus sighed, rubbing his forehead, something Aleks had learnt he did when he was annoyed. Which was a lot. The trio quickly climbed over the fence, retracing the path Seamus had took when he'd dragged Aleks there. Through the light woods and onto the street.

"What exactly are we doing again?" Aleks asked nervously, holding a small gun to his chest. It wasn't his rifle or Seamus' sawn-off double, but it was something.

"We're out looking for supplies, like they do in movies," Eddie explained. "It means we get to steal stuff legally and bash some heads."

"It scares me that you enjoy killing dead things," Seamus muttered.

"It scares me that you _don't_," Eddie countered. Seamus sighed, rubbing his forehead again, and then he started walking and promptly ran into a car. Aleks covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter, and Eddie giggled.

"I can't see shit," Seamus mumbled. He stood up and reached into his pocket, pulling out a pair of glasses similar to Eddie's. He slid them on and blinked, trying to refocus.

"Oh, look. We're standing in a street," he said drily. "When did that happen."

"That joke is very, very old," Eddie said seriously. Seamus shrugged and pulled a face.

"I have other jokes, but there might be some undead children about."

"When did that ever stop you?"

"You have a point which is surprisingly good for once. So I think I'm going to ignore it," Seamus said wisely, stroking an invisible beard.

"Can we just go and steal crap now?" Eddie whined. Seamus sighed and nodded, looking at Aleks.

"Watch yourself. It's dangerous in a lot of ways out here with the rubble and the Oldies wandering about. Plus they seem to be attracted to girls, so be on the lookout," Seamus said. Aleks looked blank for a moment, then he scowled and marched forward, walking straight into the grocery in front of them.

"We already picked that place clean," Seamus called. "Don't bother." Aleks bent down and picked up a dusty can from under a concrete slab, holding it up over his head triumphantly.

"Then what's this?" Aleks yelled, not even trying to hide his happiness.

"A can of expired cat food, genius," Seamus said smugly. "Do you learn how to read where you come from?" Aleks pulled his hand down and wiped the dust away, staring sadly at the happy cat face gazing back.

"I hate you," Aleks muttered, throwing it back down with a clatter.

"Yep, like I said. We picked it clean. Follow Eddie and don't make a whole heap of noise. You sounded like a pack of elephants when you went in there."

"When did you become an old man, Seamus?" Eddie asked, shaking his head sadly.

"When I realised I'd be spending a lot of time around a bunch of seven year olds trapped in the bodies of adults," Seamus muttered, his voice echoing around the empty street.

"Fair enough," Eddie replied. Aleks climbed his way carefully out of the broken window and re-joined Eddie and Seamus in the middle of the street before they started walking. Eddie scanned the shattered storefronts and Seamus looked ahead, checking for zombies. Aleks hung at the back, feeling useless once again. _I don't know how this even works. Why did Eddie drag me out to do this when I'm just deadweight? _

"Next street," Seamus announced. Eddie ducked and Aleks copied quickly while Seamus walked a little faster ahead, pausing at the intersection. He stood in the middle of what once was a busy road locked with traffic and spun a slow circle, looking down the roads. He walked back, cradling his shotgun to his chest.

"Two Oldies wandering around the chemist down on the left, straight ahead is clear and I heard noise on the right. Sounded quick so it might be some Biters," Seamus reported.

"Straight ahead it is," Eddie said, rising up. Aleks followed and they started walking again. Aleks shuddered, listening to the moans all around them. It was even worse, seeing as he couldn't see them. Aleks thought back to the apartment he was in before, when the zombies started smashing down his door. This time he didn't have a door for protection. He had a sarcastic bitch with long hair and a shotgun and a happy, energetic Latino with a bunch of knives. In his honest opinion, Aleks preferred the door.

"I'll head into the Wal-Mart," Seamus said. "We cleared out everyone in there before; I just need to pick something up." Seamus cast a knowing look at Eddie and he nodded.

"I'll take Aleks into the newsagents. They might have some lollies left in the back," Eddie said with a smile. Seamus nodded and disappeared over the rubble into the darkened store. Eddie grabbed Aleks' shoulder and dragged him back, into a cold and damp corner store. Aleks saw the cause: a burst pipe in the roof leaking water down a collapsed shelving unit, pooling in the cracked tile.

"Welcome to the most depressing place this side of post-apocalyptic Colorado," Eddie sighed, his happiness suddenly gone.

"Then why'd you bring me here?" Aleks asked, keeping his voice low.

"Cause I wanna show you something," Eddie said, startlingly sober. He led Aleks to the back, where the counter was. Racks showed the newspaper for the week, the date showing it was the week the end of the world began.

"Look at these headlines," Eddie urged. Aleks leaned closer, reading the headlines aloud.

"'Extreme Bullying drives San Francisco girl to suicide by knife.' 'Teen crashes car, charged with drug abuse and underage drinking.'" Aleks stopped, swallowing thickly with a growing feeling of sadness. "'Four teens disappear into forest, camp advisors stunned.'" Aleks stared at the paper and four gloomy profiles stared back. A cheeky looking brunette with crazy eyes. A tall, serious looking blonde with a scar above his lip. A happy looking boy with black hair and bright green eyes. A sad girl with crazy brown curls and dark skin.

"Sometimes I come here, when I'm feeling upset," Eddie said. "And I bring a drink with me sometimes and I sit here and stare at that god damned paper, and I think 'you know, maybe the world ending wasn't such a bad thing.' And then I hate myself because… look, I don't even know why." Eddie shrugged, his eyes full of sadness. "I just hate myself in general. Everyone thinks that I keep smiling and joking to keep the spirts up, but really I'm doing it because I think I'll go insane if I don't. And every time I smile, I feel sick to my stomach because we're surrounded by the dead and I shouldn't be smiling. It's disrespectful and I'm a horrible human being for doing it." Aleks opened his mouth and closed it again, surprised someone as playful as Eddie could say something like that.

"You know I had a girlfriend before shit went down," Eddie said hollowly, twisting his fingers painfully.

"Nah, I didn't know," Aleks said softly. Eddie smiled, the ghost of his happy grin.

"Her name was Ava. She had beautiful eyes that you get lost in and shiny hair that caught every ray of the sun and just soaked it up, and she was fierce and happy and just… perfect," Eddie sighed. "When we heard about the coast, I called her and asked if she wanted to come stay with me. But she said her roommate was really worried about it, and they were driving out together to her mum's place. And she said she'd call me as soon as she was safe. She never called me."

"I… I'm sorry," Aleks said. "That's… uh, too bad, I guess."

"Yeah. Too bad," Eddie muttered, looking away. "Too fucking bad."

* * *

_September 22nd, 2014_

"You actually got everything," Jordan marvelled, looking through the bags with an amazed smile. "Third times a charm."

"Everything on the list, ticked off," Dan agreed.

"Ticked off," Steven echoed, flitting from bag to bag and peering inside. "Everything is here."

"Yep. We did awesomely," Eddie said with a grin. Aleks stared at him, studying him closely. His smile seemed genuine, not fake. How long had Eddie been hiding behind his veil, full of sadness? Did anyone else know of his personal losses? Eddie kept laughing with Dan, making a comment about how they'd forgotten tampons for Dex. Dex scowled but a smile quickly grew in its place.

"So… Aleks has been a great help around here," Eddie prompted. "I think it's time we stopped acting like we're holding the threat of kicking him out over his head."

"That's only Seamus and Dex," Dan pointed out, casting a smile at Aleks. "He's a bit scatter-brained at first but over the past five days Aleks has helped a lot."

"Same," Steven mumbled. "He helped arrange my kit."

"And he knows how to use his guns," Eddie said. "If I could teach him how to use the knives, he'd be even more awesome."

"Although he's still probably going to try and poison us with cat food," Seamus pointed out.

"That was one time!" Aleks protested. "I haven't even gone near it since then!"

"My point still stands," Seamus sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I think we should let Aleks in on The Plan," Dan decided. "He seems like a trustworthy guy, not like he'll go running off screaming."

"It really depends," Aleks replied. "It takes a lot to make me scream these days." Eddie reached over and pinched his shoulder and Aleks yelped, jumping away.

"Jesus Christ," Dex muttered. "We're so screwed."

"That was embarrassing on multiple levels," Eddie said sagely. "I think you should go hang around outside for a while, shake it off."

"Shut up," Aleks muttered.

"We can tell him tomorrow," Jordan said. "Let's just prepare dinner for the night and arrange the night shifts."

"I want Dex and Aleks helping me," Dan announced. "Aleks is skilled with the cutting and Dex can move some of the boxes for me."

"I don't wanna work with him," Dex whined.

"Stop acting you're five years old and go get the boxes of noodles," Dan said plainly.

"But Dan!" Dex moaned, drawing out the syllables. Seamus walked past Dex and slapped the back of his head as he moved, disappearing into the hallway. Dex swore softly and rubbed his head, shuffling his feet as he followed Seamus away.

"I'm gonna go up and watch the street until dinner," Eddie said, rubbing his waist absently. "Scream for me like my French girls when it's ready."

"You're an idiot," Dan sighed.

"Go cook," Eddie replied. Dan rolled his eyes and then looked to Aleks, gesturing for him to follow. Aleks shrugged in Eddie's direction and walked with Dan into the kitchen. Dan hurried around, setting things up and Aleks simply stood out of the way. He'd learnt that Dan liked to set up and pack up himself so he knew where everything was, and the one time Aleks had attempted to help Dan had blown up in his face.

In the past week, Aleks had adapted quickly to the life of the guys. Most days Eddie and Seamus would head out into the town, just a little further each time, looking for missed supplies and stock-piling them, when Dex and Steven would sort through them in order of expiration date so they knew what to eat first. Dan often gave Aleks random jobs around the house, whether it was fetching food or weapons to clean or closing the windows and curtains when Jordan gave a sharp whistle. Jordan himself would sit up on the roof keeping watch, but Aleks didn't fully know why. He couldn't shoot any zombies, because no one had a sniper gun or a silencer. And you'd need a scope, something they all lacked.

"Aleks, can you head to the back and make sure Dex is actually doing his job?" Dan asked. "He's a lazy bitch and he's probably fallen asleep."

"Sure," Aleks said, pushing off the counter and circling it, setting off down the hallway. The back room was becoming Aleks' second home, the place where everything was stored. Weapons, food, ammunition, randomized things. Aleks shoved onto the door and frowned. The lantern was off, casting the room into an eerie darkness.

"Dex?" Aleks said, pushing the door open wider. "Dex, you in here?" Aleks took a step inside, rubbing his arms.

"I – ah, one sec!" Dex yelled from behind some boxes.

"He's coming!" Aleks heard Steven whisper.

"Then hurry up!" Dex growled. Aleks pushed aside a box and started to speak before he stopped, jaw hanging open. Steven was crouched beside Dex with his kit open on his knees, bandages in his hand. Dex was sitting beside him, blood covering his right hand.

"What... I'm confused," Aleks said lamely.

"Nothing is happening!" Steven yelped. "Perfectly fine, it's okay, you want noodles? Take the noodles!" Steven stood up and grabbed a packet of two minute noodles, throwing it at Aleks' face. Aleks batted it aside, brow furrowing.

"Okay, one, I needed the box of noodles so we can cook a whole heap of them. Two, don't throw things at me. Three, what the hell is going on?" Aleks' voice was rising in pitch. Steven looked panicked, looking from Dex to Aleks like a skittish bird.

"Nothing is going on!" Dex yelled, standing up gingerly and glaring at Aleks. "I cut my hand on the box, that's all!"

"How could a paper cut give you that much blood?" Aleks demanded. "It doesn't make sense! What were you…" Aleks trailed off, his eyes widening. "Holy shit. You… you aren't _infected_, are you?"

"No, you dumbass!" Dex snapped. Dex looked over at Steven, who nodded furiously.

"Just a paper cut, it's fine, the boxes are sharp if you aren't paying attention," Steven said nervously. "Dex is stupid." Dex sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I sure am," he said sarcastically. Aleks frowned and took a step back.

"I… uh… okay," Aleks muttered. "Just clean up and bring up the god damned noodles." Dex gave him a mocking salute, blood dripping from his palm.

"Right, Captain," he said. "I'll be right there." And then Aleks walked away and left it at that, because he decided to put trust in Dex. If he showed he trusted him, he'd be nicer hopefully. So Aleks went on a limb with his trust and the night continued as normal, Dex's hand bandaged and no one questioning it.

They should've questioned it.


	7. The Castle Crumbles

**CHAPTER SIX: THE CASTLE CRUMBLES**

_September 23rd, 2014_

It was a little while after midnight when it happened.

Steven screamed.

Aleks sat bolt upright and stared at Dan, who was already up and shoving open the door. Aleks leapt up and followed him out to see Eddie kick down Steven's door with a knife in hand as Jordan dropped from the attic hatch. Eddie ran inside with Seamus close behind, and Aleks shoved past Dan in an effort to help.

What he saw was permanently burned into his vision.

Dex was hissing and snarling and making choked growls, his skin deathly pale and a sheen of sweat coating his face. His bandage was gone, revealing a medium-sized mark on his hand, tinged in green.

A bite.

Eddie was trying to yank him back from Steven, whom he'd pressed up against wall and was scratching at. Steven had grabbed his wrists and was holding him back as he screamed hysterically, Dex snapped his teeth close to his face.

"He's infected!" someone yelled.

"No shit!" Seamus yelled in reply, trying to help Eddie yank Dex back. "Get him off Steven, for Christ's sake!"

"Kill him!" Jordan shouted over the commotion.

"Are you insane?" Dan snapped, whirling to face Jordan. "It's Dex!" Dex howled as Eddie and Seamus finally wrenched him back, all three of them crashing backwards against the bed.

"That's not Dex!" Jordan said loudly over Dan's protests. "Kill him now before he kills someone himself!" Seamus had managed to get on top of Dex, straddling his chest and holding his arms down by the wrist. Dex arched his neck angrily, reaching up and trying to bite him while he writhed beneath Seamus, attempting to throw him off.

"Don't let him bite you!" Eddie cried as he scrambled for his dropped knife. It was by Aleks' feet. He grabbed it quickly and was about to toss it to Eddie when Dex got his feet up and threw Seamus off, sending him crashing against the other wall with a cry beside Steven. Aleks took the moment and ran forward, tackling Dex, sliding across the floor. Aleks shot his hand forward under Dex's jaw and grabbed his neck, snapping it back. Then Aleks held the knife up and slammed it down viciously, cracking into Dex's skull as blood spurted quickly. Dex's movements slowed and Aleks twisted the knife jerkily until the top of Dex's head was a bloody mess of shattered bone and flesh and he'd stopped moving at all. Aleks let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding and slumped back, his cramped hand leaving Dex's neck. He couldn't pull the knife out so he left it there, sticking out of Dex's head like an odd flag.

"Holy shit," Eddie whispered. "You killed him." Steven was mumbling incoherently, tears streaming down his face, and he curled up in a ball and sobbed. Great, heaving cries that shook his entire body, and everyone just stood around in shock. Aleks looked down numbly at the blood that covered the floor and his hands and legs and he just kept staring, unsure what to do.

"I…" he started, and Eddie just shook his head.

"You did what you had to do," Eddie said softly. "It's fine."

"Steven?" Seamus asked. "You alright? Did he get you?" Steven didn't reply, still crying.

"Was anyone bitten?" Jordan asked. "Check yourselves." The wave of adrenaline wearing off, Aleks slowly checked himself for bites while Eddie and Seamus did the same. Eventually 'clears' was uttered and then Dan just left the room, and they heard the door slam and everyone listened as he screamed and there was a thump.

"Let him," Jordan sighed wearily. "He'll just punch the wall for a while. I'll clean up in here. Eddie, take Steven downstairs. Try and get something out of him. Seamus, get some water and the mop. Aleks, if you'd… if you'd just wrap him up, I'd appreciate it. You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I'll do it," Aleks said quietly. "I'm already a mess anyway." Jordan nodded thankfully and everyone slowly dispersed, Eddie helping Steven stand and leading him out, whispering reassurances, and Seamus eventually returned with a bucket of water and a mop, face unreadable. Jordan started to clean and Seamus stood in the doorway silently, rubbing his face erratically. Aleks walked over to Dex's bed and pulled off the sheet, laying it on the ground.

"Can you help me with this?" Aleks asked, and Seamus walked over. Together they picked Dex's limp form up and rested him down gently on the sheet, and then the wrapped it around him before standing up. They stood there, side by side, not speaking, just staring at his face.

"Nice job," Seamus said finally. "You acted quick. Someone probably would've died if you didn't jump in."

"I feel so horrible," Aleks said. "I just… we both hated each other for no reason and… I don't know why I leapt in like that."

"It wasn't out of spite," Seamus said with a small nod. "You didn't kill him because you didn't like him. You killed him because you knew you had to."

"How would you even know?" Aleks sighed, not willing to start an argument.

"Because I've killed a lot of people I hated," Seamus said blankly. "And in the moment where you're standing over them with a gun in their stupid face, you like them." Aleks was quiet, and Seamus only stood there for a minute longer before leaving the room. Jordan wiped away the blood methodically and Aleks watched him for a while before following Seamus' lead and leaving the room.

No one spoke for the rest of the night.

* * *

Dan and Jordan had left at dawn to collect wood and didn't return until midday, and there they started to pile it up. Occasionally Eddie and Aleks would stop and stare out the back door and watch them stack it up neatly, dreading what was to come. When the sun was setting and Steven was finally talking again, Seamus and Aleks carried Dex out and laid him down as gently as they could on top of the wood, still wrapped up and his face covered. It would've been disrespectful with his wounds, and no one wanted to see him that way. They all stood around the wood and Dex until Jordan spoke.

"Uh… today, we're seeing off another friend," he started. "And… I just don't know," he sighed, shaking his head.

"He was a complete dickwad and he didn't deserve to die," Eddie said. "He was funny as hell and was about as moody as a teenage girl, but he was a great friend and no one deserves what he got. Especially not him."

"He was a good guy," Seamus said. "I couldn't take him seriously with his stupid accent, especially when he got pissed off. Like Eddie said, he didn't deserve it."

"I liked him," Steven said softly. "He was nice to me."

"He was an awesome help when he was needed and was great at cheering you up when everything got you down," Dan said, stubbing his toes in the dirt. "He shouldn't have died. He survived for six months and he should've got longer."

"I… I didn't really know him, but he hated me and I hated him," Aleks said quietly. "But we had good arguments. They were funny to think about after, because he pulled out the most random shit in the world. I wish I could've got to know him better."

"He was a great person overall," Jordan said. "He didn't deserve to die." Everyone was silent and then Dan spoke up.

"Was he religious at all?" he asked. Eddie snorted.

"He mocked religion all the damn time," he laughed. "I doubt he was."

"Fine then," Dan said grimly. "Let's start the fire." Jordan took a step forward, pulling the matches from his pocket. He lit one and dropped it on the dry wood at the bottom, walking in a circle, lighting matches and dropping them multiple times to speed it up. Everyone took a step back and watched as the flames gathered in size, rising up before they consumed him. Soon all you could see was his flickering shadow in the midst of the fire and Dan made the sign of the cross before walking back inside, closing the door gently. Steven sat down and watched the fire dance around. Seamus' face was stone and Eddie was continuously wiping his eyes, blinking quickly. Jordan sighed and tipped his hat towards the fire before joining Dan inside.

The sun had given way to the darkest night they'd ever had before the fire was finished.

* * *

No one wanted to talk about it, or question how he'd gotten bitten or try and coax information out of Steven. Anything related to Dex had been wordlessly made strictly off limits. Dan didn't cook, instead handing everyone a tin of pudding with a small smile. Everyone ate in silence, and then Dan went to the back room and came back with a case of beer. No one commented, silently taking a bottle while Dan came around with it. Eddie declined and Aleks simply shrugged as he took his own. Aleks got the feeling they did the same thing about Nick's death. Jordan held up his bottle and forced a smile.

"A toast," he said. "To Dex and everything he believed in." People nodded and then started to drink, and the next time Aleks looked at the clock it was midnight and everyone was well onto to their third round of self-medication.

* * *

_September 24th, 2014_

It was another depressingly quiet morning. Dan didn't come downstairs with Aleks and Jordan didn't go up to his little perch to hide away. He instead sat on the couch and stared hard at the rug on the floor, concealing the stain they could never remove from the floor or from their minds. Aleks sat beside Eddie while he tapped his knee, humming lyrics to songs mainly centred on fire, a cold irony Aleks couldn't shake. Steven sat cross-legged on the floor, taking everything out of his medical box and rearranging it before replacing it back in the box, waiting a minute before repeating the process again and again. Seamus eventually came down, sitting in one of the arm chairs and chewing his lip, not speaking. He sat there for so long that he had started bleeding.

"How did it happen?" Jordan asked suddenly, voice quiet but stony. Steven froze, hand hovering over the box. He stood up and closed it up, starting to walk away.

"Steven," Jordan said dangerously. Steven stopped again and turned around nervously, fiddling with the lid.

"Yes?" he asked quietly.

"How did it happen?" Jordan asked again, his voice starting to crack. Steven was silent for a moment before he took a deep breath.

"He opened the little window," Steven said. "The one that opens up so you can see the grass in the backyard. He wanted fresh air. I told him not to but he didn't listen. He found a bag of old apples that had completely rotted, so he grabbed it and stuck it out the window. While his had was out, a zombie came out of nowhere and bit his arm."

"He didn't scream?" Eddie asked in surprise. Steven shook his head quickly.

"He was very calm," Steven said. "He just pulled his hand back in and closed the window, and then he stared at it for a while and asked me if he was going to die. I… I said probably, and he shrugged and asked me to bandage it up. I didn't know what to do or what he was thinking, so I just… I just wrapped his hand up. I was gonna tell you guys but he told me not to and just say it was a really bad paper cut."

"What about when Aleks went in? Dan told him to check on Dex," Seamus asked. "Was this before or after?" Steven looked at Aleks and, to his shock, he shrugged.

"After," Steven lied. "Dex was already bandaged up and he hid his arm behind a box when Aleks came in so he didn't see."

"Alright," Jordan said, sighing deeply. "Thanks. I'm sorry I snapped, it's just… we're all on edge." There was a small silence and Steven scurried away, and Aleks listened to him rush up the stairs. Aleks didn't know where he'd go, seeing as he'd been sleeping on the couch. Dex and Steven's shared room hadn't been entered since it happened.

"Can we go out?" Seamus asked suddenly.

"Are we running out of something?" Jordan asked in confusion. "We checked everything yesterday." Seamus hesitated, his shoulders slumping.

"No," he said dejectedly.

"Then… why do you want to go out?" Jordan asked, frowning.

"Does there have to be a reason for going out?" Seamus snapped, voice rising in pitch slightly. "There is no reason! There isn't a reason for anything!" then he stood up and walked out of the room quickly, leaving Jordan baffled and Eddie concerned.

"Um…. Alright," Jordan said, looking at Eddie. Eddie shrugged and then stood, walking out, seemingly to find Seamus. Jordan looked over at Aleks and smiled half-heartedly.

"Everything's falling apart, just a bit," he said, leaning back in his chair. "We tried so hard to put this all together and now… it's breaking. You can see all the little cracks." He twisted his fingers together and then broke them apart, sighing. "They used to be little cracks. Now they're bigger. A lot bigger."

"I'm sorry," Aleks said. Jordan shrugged.

"It's not your fault," he said. "It's no one's fault." He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them again, they were full of sadness. "It used to be a group effort, you know. Holding it all together. It was like cement at the time, but now it's more like sticky tape. And I don't think that will be holding us up for much longer."


	8. The Plan

**Have you guys been seeing the Easter Eggs?**

* * *

**CHAPTER SEVEN: THE PLAN**

_September 25th, 2014_

Dan looked half-dead. He had circles under his bloodshot eyes and his shoulders seemed permanently slumped as they gathered around the kitchen counter. Steven kept tapping his fingers against the metal of his box and Seamus was biting the inside of his cheek, occasionally tapping the floor in a weird pattern before stopping suddenly and starting up again. Eddie was watching Seamus closely and Jordan kept his eyes on Aleks.

"So we're going to explain the Plan to you now," Jordan announced. "Do you remember how we told you that everyone ran away to the mountains when the infection first hit?"

"Yeah," Aleks said. "Something about them planning to make their own little houses up there and restart."

"Exactly," Jordan said with a smile. "Well, we decided a while back that we finally try and make our trek up there and join them. Littleton is slowly getting overrun and we're running out of shops to raid, and the mountains seem like our best bet at this time."

"But why didn't you go with everyone at first?" Aleks asked. "Or even when the infection actually came?"

"Like we said, we had family and friends and we thought it was stupid," Jordan said. "We didn't think the Apocalypse would actually happen, which kinda shows we were the stupid ones. But hey, we're still alive, aren't we?" Jordan said with forced cheer.

"But what do we have to show for it?" Dan muttered. "Most of us are dead, and those friends and family we stayed for either booked it or died in the first days."

"We're aware of that, Dan," Jordan sighed.

"Honestly, though," Dan started, "What's the point in staying here or even trying to go up the mountains? We'd have to either trek through the town, which is full of Sleepers, Oldies and sometimes Biters or try and go around, which people already attempted. And you know full well what happened to them."

"Rest in pieces," Eddie said emotionlessly.

"Exactly," Dan said, mimicking Jordan.

"Look, I know you're upset about Dex but you don't need to-"

"Don't need to what, Jordan?" Dan snapped. "What do I not have to do? What happened to your stupid mantra, huh? 'Greif is glue'? How is that meant to work if you won't let us grieve?"

"You had two days," Jordan said sharply.

"Two days isn't fucking enough, Jordan!" Dan yelled. "He's dead and you expect us to get over it in two days? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"We've all lost someone," Jordan said. "We had to forgive and forget in less time then you."

"Forgive and Forget? As if!" Dan scoffed. "You're still torn up over the fact you had to shoot your god dammed wife in the head because-"

"Don't you dare," Jordan said dangerously. "Don't you dare mention her."

"Forgive and forget is bullshit if you can't even say her name," Dan sneered. Jordan's fists clenched around the pencil he was holding and Dan scowled. "Go on, Jordan. Just say it. Just admit you didn't want to lose her. Just admit you made her wait it out to try and see if you'd live. Admit that you killed her." Jordan was silent and shock was clearly displayed on everyone's faces. Sure, Dan could be a bit mean, but this was downright _cruel_. Jordan's pencil snapped and he forced his hands open, dropping the two pieces. He didn't meet Dan's gaze, instead turning sharply and walking out of the room. He stomped up the stairs and Aleks heard the hatch open and then thump close, and Dan stared at the entryway with grim satisfaction.

"Dude," Eddie said. "What the hell was that?"

"He needed to get it into his thick head that everyone has to grieve," Dan said, and then he left the room, the back door banging open and slamming shut. Steven looked down at the floor, his eyes wide.

"That was horrible," Steven said softly. Then he walked over to the couch and sat down, staring at the wall and stroking his box slowly. Seamus fidgeted restlessly, looking from Eddie to Aleks.

"Can we go out now?" he asked quickly. "While they aren't paying attention?"

"Can't you just wait for once?" Eddie sighed. "We're going out tomorrow, you can-"

"I can't _wait_ for this, Eddie," Seamus said lowly. "This isn't the thing you _wait_ for." Eddie looked at him for a moment, studying his face, and then he nodded.

"Fine. Let me grab my knives and we'll go," Eddie decided. "Aleks, you can come too."

"He's not coming," Seamus said sharply.

"He's coming, for god's sake," Eddie snapped. Seamus cast a hard glance at Aleks before walking away to grab his shotgun, and Aleks looked to Eddie.

"What's that all about?" he asked.

"Don't ask," Eddie muttered, and then he, too, left. Aleks was suddenly alone in the kitchen, because he didn't count Steven as company. He wasn't speaking, having once again slipped into his odd silence. Aleks wanted to ask him why he'd hid Dex, why he'd lied to Jordan, why he loved that box so much, he wanted to ask a multitude of questions but he was unreachable. Eddie came back down the hall was his ammunition belts strapped on and a gun in hand, his knives sheathed for once. Seamus followed quickly, shotgun holstered over his shoulder.

"Let's go," Eddie said. "We have to be quick." Aleks nodded and the walked to the back door, and Eddie slid it open and walked to the back fence, circling around the burn marks in the grass. Seamus shut the door none to gently and followed Eddie to the back fence, and they both jumped it and started to walk. Aleks stared at the scorch marks for a second longer before running across the backyard and jumping the fence, eager to catch up, not willing to be alone.

* * *

Moans filled the air when they reached town. Eddie reported that there was a whole horde by the news agency, stumbling around through the rubble.

"Someone might've run through there," he said. "Lead them over the rubble to slow them down. Genius."

"Another survivor?" Aleks asked sceptically. Eddie shrugged.

"You aren't the only one who's come parading through town," he replied.

"But was I the only one you saved?" Aleks asked, and Eddie's face darkened. He didn't reply and kept walking. Aleks frowned but followed, Seamus sticking close to Eddie up ahead. Aleks looked in stores as they passed them for movement or nothing. He'd discovered 'nothing' was worse, after Eddie had explained Sleepers to him. They pretended they were dead, slumped against walls and or sprawled on the ground, and when you passed they would leap up and attack, usually grabbing your legs and knocking you down so you couldn't escape. Aleks had asked if the zombie that had killed Steven's friend was a Sleeper, and Eddie had nodded and not spoken for the rest of the night. Eddie was getting quieter and quieter as the days passed, a far cry from when Aleks first met him. He hadn't gotten to know the happy, playful Eddie before he'd slipped inside himself. Now Eddie was a lot harder, not joking as much or smiling. Recent events had taken their toll on him, and if Seamus – stony, emotionless Seamus – was this bad, who knew how bad Eddie was on the inside?

"Hurry up!" Eddie said, gesturing for Aleks to come forward. He sped up and ducked behind the broken wall, crouched beside Eddie and Seamus.

"The whole god damn street," Seamus muttered. "Full of them."

"Do we go through the stores?"

"That's where they're coming from."

"Around the back alley."

"Don't you remember what happened to Jamie?"

'Then what do you suggest, Seamus?" Eddie sighed. "Stop being so… so _Seamus_!" Seamus raised an eyebrow and Eddie huffed, crossing his arms and leaning up against the wall.

"It was the best I could come up with in a split second," he said. "Don't judge me."

"I didn't say anything," Seamus shrugged.

"You said it mentally! I could practically hear it!" Eddie fumed. "You're a loud thinker!"

"So now you're physic," Seamus said dubiously.

"I didn't say that!" Eddie whined. "Just stop it!"

"Stop doing what?"

"You know what you're doing!"

"No, I don't. What am I doing?"

"Being a little bitch, that's what!"

"Oh really," Seamus said.

"Can we stop arguing over pointless shit and move on?" Aleks said. "We're surrounded by zombies right now and this isn't the place to have a fight."

"He actually got something right," Seamus mumbled.

"Oh my god, why are you so annoying!?" Aleks yelled. Seamus paled a few shades and Eddie sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Aleks," he said sweetly, "You're the one who just mentioned we're surrounded by zombies. Great job there."

"Oh," Aleks said. "Sorry."

* * *

Running again. Aleks was pretty sure he'd actually ran down this street a week ago, and his thoughts were confirmed when he saw the comic store.

"There!" Eddie yelled over his shoulder, pointing forward. Aleks avoided a crashed car and risked a glance at Seamus as he jumped over bodies, tripping on a discarded handbag and stumbling before regaining his balance.

"Watch for Sleepers!" Eddie yelled. He ran forward and shoved open the door, holding it open. Aleks darted in with Seamus close behind, and then Eddie slammed the door shut and pushed the boxes back in place. Seamus bent over, breathing quickly.

"I hate you so much," Seamus panted. "So, so much. You're never coming out with us again."

"I'm sorry, okay?" Aleks snapped. "If you weren't so bitchy all the time, maybe I wouldn't of-"

"Hey guys," Eddie said, smirking. "Check where we are." Seamus looked up and as Aleks looked around the gloomy room, things swirled into focus.

"Oh Jesus," Seamus sighed as he straightened. "You did his on purpose, didn't you?"

"Are these… ew, what the hell?" Aleks yelled, dropping the box he'd grabbed. Eddie laughed, spreading out his arms.

"Of all the stores I pick to run into, I picked the god damn sex store!" he laughed. "That's hilarious!"

"It's not hilarious!" Seamus snapped. "It's weird!" Eddie disappeared into the racks of woman's underwear and Aleks brushed his hands on his pants quickly, shuddering.

"I don't even want to know what half this shit is," Seamus said under his breath, inching back towards the wall.

"Oh Seamus!" Eddie sang, appearing out of nowhere with a lacy bra over his shirt. "You called?"

"Go to hell," Seamus sighed.

"Only if you come with me!" Eddie said, twirling invisible hair and doing a small dance.

"You need therapy," Seamus said. "Intensive therapy."

"Will you be my doctor then?" Eddie purred, batting his eyelashes. "Take me to your _love_ seat." He said, drawing out the syllables. Seamus covered his face with his hands and Eddie burst out laughing again, and Aleks couldn't help but join in. Then there was an angry crash against the door, shaking the boxes, and the mood died immediately. Seamus shoved off the wall and turned quickly, shotgun out and in his hands swiftly. Eddie palmed a knife and Aleks' hand went to his gun nervously.

"There's probably a way out the back," Seamus said. "We need to get out." Aleks looked at his face, partly hidden in the dark.

"I agree," Eddie said. "It's probably in our best interests to live and all that."

"Let's go," Seamus said. He turned and started to walk through the racks and shelves, disappearing. Eddie started to follow when Seamus called back to him.

"Take it off, you aren't bringing it!" Seamus yelled. Eddie pouted and took off the bra, leaving it on a shelf and then walking forward. Aleks followed Eddie through the ransacked store, not wanting to touch anything.

"This is disgusting," Aleks muttered.

"Don't lie, I know you're enjoying it," Eddie replied.

"Shut up."

"I didn't hear you say no then…"

"Eddie," Aleks said calmly, "I will put one of these condoms on your head and shove you down a toilet like the shit you are unless you stop talking right now." Eddie pulled a face and hopped the counter, spotting Seamus kicking the back door viciously.

"Whoa dude, slow down," Eddie laughed. "Kicking the bottom doesn't work, you have to hit the doorknob to-"

"I know that," Seamus snapped.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you today? You're happy then you're moody, you're joking around with us and then you're just pissy, and it's annoying!" Eddie said, his voice rising. "Can't you just enjoy yourself for once?"

"You know what's wrong," Seamus said angrily. "And I don't enjoy myself in the Apocalypse, unlike some people." Eddie's face fell and Aleks scowled.

"You're just being mean now for the sake of being mean," Aleks said. "You know that hurts him but you say it either way. Why?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Seamus said, kicking the doorknob. The door smacked open with a crack and Seamus stormed in.

"You're gonna talk about it," Aleks said loudly. "Secrets are dangerous."

"Says the guy who was apparently 'lucky' coming from the coast! Will you just shut up for once?"

"For once? I barely talk around you because I'm terrified you're gonna scream at me for no apparent reason!"

"I don't scream at people for no reason!"

"Really? What about Dex? Jordan? Steven? Did that have a reason?" Aleks demanded, following him into the back.

"Does there need to be reason?" Seamus repeated.

"Yes, because you're just being a jerk!" Aleks yelled.

"Aleks," Eddie sighed. "Just leave it."

"I'm not going to 'just leave it'!" Aleks said, turning and facing him. "He can't just be a dick for no reason!"

"He has a reason," Eddie said. "He just isn't proud of it." Then he walked after Seamus and Aleks watched him go, frustration boiling in his chest. _What is wrong with these guys?_

* * *

"I'm going in here," Seamus said blankly. "Bye."

"Bye," Eddie said. "I'm heading in here. Aleks, come on." Seamus disappeared into Wal-Mart and Aleks watched him go, frowning.

"Aleks!" Eddie yelled. "You deaf? Come on!"

"I see something over there," Aleks lied. "I'm gonna go check it out."

"Hurry up then and meet me inside," Eddie replied. "We haven't looted the back yet."

"Sure, I'll be there in a sec," Aleks said. He waited for Eddie to go inside the store and then turned and stepped through the broken window of Wal-Mart.

"He always goes in here," Aleks muttered. "Why? He's probably taken everything out already." He kept walking, glass crunching under his boots and echoing. He froze for a minute after every step, waiting in terror for shotgun pellets to tear a few new holes in him, but they never came. He heard a door creak open up the back and Aleks rushed forward, ducking under fallen racks and over crumbling pieces of roof, trying to avoid puddles formed by burst water mains. The guns section was completely looted out and kitchenware was missing all its knives and other utensils that could be used as a weapon. At one point Aleks came across a half-decomposed body crouched in a canoe, clutching a bloody whisk.

Dead bodies littered the floor in odd places, desperate souls who attempted to hide and live. A man with bandanas wrapped up and down his arms, knives taped to his knuckles like a Wolverine wannabe. A young girl wearing three different heavy coats over each other, a gun cradled to her chest. A woman sitting calmly in a lawn chair, staring blankly, her legs gnawed off to the knees. They got odder and odder as he passed, finally making his way to the back of the cavernous store. There was one light illuminating the back, a glowing green exit sign. _How does that still have power? _Aleks frowned and walked up to the door, peering in. Seamus was up the back, going through a box. His movements seemed slightly frantic and Aleks was about to speak up when Seamus cursed loudly, spinning around. Aleks ducked to the right, pressing him against the wall. There was a loud crash as something fell and Aleks inched along further, hiding behind a shelf. There was the sound of a water bottle cracking open and then silence, and Aleks was going to stand when Seamus came storming out. Aleks fell back hard, swearing silently, hoping he hadn't heard him. There was a bang again and Aleks peeked up over the top. Seamus had just kicked a shelf and sent it to the ground for seemingly no reason, and he kicked it again viciously before disappearing down the aisle. Aleks stood up slowly, craning his neck to see down the aisle. Seamus passed the dead bodies without comment and then he jumped out the cracked window back into the street. Aleks followed him out, watching him go into the same store as Eddie. Aleks looked around the empty street and then copied him, walking in.

"I'm here!" Aleks yelled loudly.

"Did you find whatever you saw?" Eddie yelled back from the far end.

"It ran away," Aleks replied, finding him at the back. He was picking up cans of food, blowing away dust and checking the dates before putting them in his bag.

"Grab anything still in date," Eddie ordered. "Seamus is on the right so you take the left."

"Sure," Aleks said, walking along the back wall until he came to a shelf of cans. He stared at them for a moment and then picked up the first one. It was monotonous. It was boring. It didn't help that Aleks was full of unanswered questions surrounded Seamus. _What was he doing?_


	9. Dirty Secrets and Rocks

**Bo-bomb shell!**

* * *

**CHAPTER EIGHT: DIRTY SECRETS AND ROCKS**

_September 26th, 2014_

Aleks couldn't hold it in any longer. Dan was cooking food and constantly rubbing his eyes, Seamus had disappeared outside, Steven was cleaning the living room and Eddie was sitting on the couch reading a comic. Aleks took in a breath and walked to the couch, trying to look nonchalant.

"We need to talk," Aleks said calmly. Eddie looked up from his comic and raised an eyebrow.

"What about?" he asked.

"In _private_," Aleks said forcefully. Eddie rolled his eyes and dropped the comic on the couch, standing up with a sigh.

"Let's go up to my bedroom," Eddie suggested. "It's quiet, and Seamus is still outside." Aleks nodded and Eddie led the way, down the hall and up the steps. Steven and Dex's room was still untouched, the door having no been opened since the night it happened. Steven had been sleeping in Jordan's room, not willing to go back. Eddie pressed his shoulder against his door, knocking it open as he walked in. Their room was surprisingly clean. He flopped on his bed and looked over at Aleks.

"So what is that's so important we need to come up alone?" Eddie asked. Aleks pursed his lips and shifted from foot to foot, pushing his hands in his pockets.

"What is it that Seamus does in Wal-Mart?" Aleks blurted finally, running a hand through his hair nervously. "I… I followed him yesterday. He was looking for something, but it doesn't make sense. Everything's been looted already, and-"

"He's doing nothing," Eddie snapped, suddenly guarded. He stood up and started to walk to the door, but Aleks slid in front of him.

"No," he demanded. "Tell me what's going on. You're all just giving me these stupid half-answers and not telling me what's going on!"

"You don't need to know," Eddie said angrily. "It doesn't concern me."

"Eddie," Aleks said, exasperated. "Just tell me! You _can_ trust me." Eddie stared at him for a moment and then he let out a small breath, his shoulders drooping slightly.

"He hides his stuff up there," Eddie muttered.

"What stuff?" Aleks asked.

"Medications," Eddie said, looking away, face twisted with guilt. "He has stuff going on he doesn't like to talk about."

"But what kind of stuff? He's been so different lately and it doesn't connect up to anything," Aleks said. Eddie looked at the floor, rubbing his chin as he contemplated on whether or not to speak.

"He's on meds for his problems," Eddie said softly. "Anti-Psychotics and Anti-Depressants." Aleks' mouth fell open in an 'o' and he took a step back.

"What?" he said breathlessly. "He's mental?"

"He's not mental!" Eddie snapped. He softened. "He had to go through some rough shit and it messed him up. Deeper than Steven. If he doesn't take it all, he's…" he stopped, hesitating. "Slightly dangerous."

"Then why doesn't anyone else know?" Aleks said, shocked. "If it's that much of an issue, he could just-"

"He doesn't like telling anyone. It's not the sort of stuff that people just accept," Eddie sighed. "I've only ever seen it happen once, okay? It was a shortage, and his meds weren't getting shipped in. He went AWOL in his room for a week, and I only went to him once. I knocked on the door and he… he, like, yanked it open and he wasn't Seamus, dude. His eyes were bloodshot and he was really pale and he'd been crying and it was like… there wasn't anything in his eyes," Eddie whispered. "He was just blank. He snapped at me and he shoved me out of the doorway back into the hall and then he slammed it shut, and I didn't see him until he got his medication next. He didn't eat or anything, Aleks. He just sat in his room and cried." Aleks looked at Eddie, starting to feel numb.

"And… when I saw him yesterday," Aleks said quietly. "He kicked some boxes around and shoved stuff. I think he hasn't got any left." Eddie finally met his gaze and nodded, curt.

"He hasn't got any left," he echoed, voice empty. "And he's scared. He's really scared." Aleks looked away, taking a moment to process. The entire concept of Seamus being scared seemed ridiculous. He was hard and emotionless, and this Seamus didn't seem real. He wasn't vulnerable or unstable, he wasn't… he wasn't _sick_.

"Shit," Aleks mumbled. "What's he going to do?"

"He told me he's just gonna try and stick it out until we make it to the others," Eddie replied. "When we make it up the mountain."

"How do we know anyone's even up there?" Aleks asked. "What if there's no one up there?"

"Those people went somewhere," Eddie answered. "We're gonna find there, wherever they are. Maybe some of our friends went with them. Maybe not."

"You're riding everything on this," Aleks said doubtfully.

"We know," Eddie said, setting his jaw. "We're gonna ride it until it crashes and burns."

* * *

He found himself studying Seamus as they gathered for dinner. He'd cleaned himself up, but you could still see the circles under his eyes. Dan looked over at Jordan as they sat at the table and let out a small breath.

"I'm sorry about this morning," Dan said. "I shouldn't have bought her up and what I said was horrible. I'm really sorry." Jordan didn't say anything, pursing his lips and looking down at his food. Dan sighed and dropped it, and Aleks looked over at Steven. _So many questions_. Aleks started to eat, eyes flicking from Jordan to Seamus to Steven. _Who's Jordan's wife? What's gonna happen to Seamus? Why did Steven lie about Dex? _Aleks scowled at his food, pushing it around the plate. _Why does no one ever say what's really going on? _From what Aleks had gathered, the cracks had been showing for a long time. Jordan was under the false illusion everything was fine. Seamus was quietly suffering and hiding behind his attitude. Eddie was starting to fall into a depression he didn't understand. Steven was teetering on the edge of another mental breakdown. Dan was starting to unravel. But the saddest part of it was that they thought they were fine. No one questioned the looks, the moments of silence, the times Jordan disappeared. Aleks looked over at Eddie, frowning. _Does he want me to do something to help him? When he told me what he was feeling, was it a vent or was he asking for help? What do you do in these situations? _

"That was great," Eddie said, dropping his fork.

"You ate quick," Dan said. "Did you inhale it or did you actually eat it?"

"You sound like my mother," Eddie joked. Dan made a face.

"Am I really getting that old?" he asked. "Do I have any grey hairs?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Eddie said. "I'm older than you and I'm still a glowing fountain of youth. But Seamus is getting old. He's half blind."

"Don't mock my blindness," Seamus sighed. "Besides, you have the same problems. You stared at a computer screen for too long." Dan looked over at Steven, a wistful look on his face.

"What's it like being young, Steven?" Dan asked, a faraway look in his eyes. "I've forgotten what it's like."

"You're way over dramatic," Eddie said seriously. "I recommend a career in acting."

"Do you still ride skateboards and graffiti dicks on walls?" Dan asked. "Is it still cool to wear hats backwards?"

"You weren't even born in the eighties," Jordan pointed out, smiling. "You're a nineties kid. None of that was cool." Dan smiled back at Jordan, relieved he was finally talking to him again.

"The nineties were great fun," Seamus shrugged. "Pacman was even better then."

"Did you actually have Pacman when you were a kid?" Eddie asked innocently. "I thought you played on dinosaurs."

"I'm not that old!" Seamus said, making a face. "The only dinosaurs I've ever seen were at a museum."

"When you were visiting your dad?" Eddie asked, smirking. Seamus sighed and rubbed his face.

"These jokes are getting old," Seamus said.

"Like you," Eddie said helpfully. Seamus glared at him and Eddie giggled, pushing his plate forward. He looked over at Aleks.

"What did you do when you were kid?" Eddie asked. Aleks shrugged, feeling suddenly uncomfortable.

"We didn't have much to do," he said. "We threw rocks at stuff. I think at one point we stole a shopping trolley and rode it down a staircase. And… uh, they had these big rack things in the Hospital where my dad worked, so my friends would go in and sit on it and just ride around."

"Cool," Steven said. He sighed. "My mum never let me do anything fun."

"My mum didn't give a shit what I did," Seamus said. "She told me at one point she wanted me to do sports and I just said no and hid in my room for a month. After that she gave up and I just played video games all day."

"My grandfather gave me fireworks when I was seven," Jordan said. "He made me a little pyromaniac and I burnt all of his flowers."

"We had this old camera," Dan said, smiling distantly. "We'd steal my mum and dad's clothes and put on little plays and record them. It was great."

"I can't even remember a lot of my childhood," Eddie said, scratching his chin and frowning. "I think I accidently crashed my uncle's car into a pole and then it all goes blank."

"That's worrying," Seamus said drily. "You should get that checked out."

"Aleks mentioned his dad worked in a hospital," Eddie shrugged. "We can just take my private jet out to San Fran and I can get it checked."

"It's not in San Francisco," Aleks said. Eddie frowned.

"Then where is it? Didn't you say you came from San Francisco?" Eddie asked, and Aleks looked at him blankly. Then he hummed, nodding.

"Oh yeah, that," Aleks said. "I lived in Russia until I was seven and that's where my dad worked. Then we moved to San Francisco."

"Wait," Dan said, surprised. 'You're Russian?"

"Did I never mention that?" Aleks asked, confused.

"Oh wait, that makes sense!" Jordan said, nodding slowly. "Cause you're name. It's not the American spelling."

"If you spell out my full name everyone gets really confused," Aleks said. "I've had to sign on with my full name at some places and they don't think I'm being serious."

"How do you spell your name?" Steven asked. "Isn't it just Aleks?"

"Nope," Aleks said. "I just prefer Aleks because it's not so serious and stuff. It's actually Alexander, but you spell it as A-L-E-K-S-A-N-D-R."

"What?" Dan mumbled, and he repeated it under his breath. Then he brightened. "Oh, it does spell it! That's cool."

"Do we have to hold a full discussion over my name?" Aleks asked. "Can't we just go back to talking about childhood stuff?"

"I have to go up on the roof," Jordan said. "I haven't been up in a while to look around. Sorry."

"Aw, but we were being all friend-ish!" Eddie whined. "It was almost normal!" Jordan shrugged and stood up.

"I don't feel like we should leave it any longer," Jordan said apologetically. "I already missed one zombie getting in. I can't let it happen again." There was silence for a beat and then Seamus sighed, lowering his head on the table.

"You don't… you don't actually blame yourself about Dex, do you?" Eddie asked dubiously. "It's not your fault."

"But I was watching," Jordan said quietly. "I should've seen it come in."

"Jordan!" Eddie laughed, standing up. He walked around the table and pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tight. "It's not your fault that you weren't looking for a split second!" Eddie took a step back and smiled. "You're always up there looking out for them, and I can't even count the amount of times you haven't slept. Maybe your attention wavered for a second, and yeah, stuff happened, but you can't blame yourself for something like that." Jordan looked down, shaking his head. Eddie crossed his arms and sighed.

"Seriously," he said. "Don't beat yourself up about it. We couldn't have stopped it." Jordan didn't speak, and then he nodded.

"I'm going up," he said softly, and then he walked out of the room. Eddie watched him leave and then turned back to the table, smiling. For the first time, it seemed forced.

"Hurry up and finish eating," he said. "You're are taking forever and I wanna do something fun."

* * *

"This is your idea of fun?" Dan whispered furiously. Eddie shrugged, grinning.

"It is," Eddie smiled. "Seamus, turn on the damn torch. I can't see a thing." Seamus muttered a few curses and fumbled through his bag. There was some clicking and then a bright beam of light illuminated the roof of the store. They had walked in the dark through a scarily quiet street and stumbled down an alley, climbing onto a dumpster and grabbing a fire escape. And now they were standing on a roof, zombies milling about below them, oblivious to their presence. Seamus turned the beam on Eddie and he looked almost frightening: the light bounced off his glasses and cast distorted shadows down his face.

"The point of it is," Eddie began as he bent down, "to throw rocks down on their heads and see who you can knock out." Eddie straightened with a smile, holding a decently sized rock in his hand.

"You're insane!" Dan hissed.

"It's dark," Steven said.

"I agree with both of those statements," Seamus said. Eddie giggled, walking over to the edge of the roof.

"Don't fall off," Aleks called quietly, a combination of nerves and the chilly air making him feel numb. If he slipped…

"I'll be fine!" Eddie called back. "I've done this a million times."

"Oh Jesus," Dan mumbled, burying his head in his hands. Eddie craned his neck, squinting in the dark. He held his arm back, waited a moment, and then threw his rock hard. There was a bang, an angered moan, and then Eddie twirled on the edge back to face them.

"Did you hit it?" Steven asked. Eddie nodded and bowed, giggling.

"Headshot!" he whispered excitedly as he walked back over. "Score one to the living."

"That's so cheesy," Seamus sighed. "This isn't some high school sport."

"I'm just trying to have some fun," Eddie said. He looked over at Aleks and gestured for him to come.

"Please don't," Dan said, looking at him through his fingers. 'You're going to die." Aleks swallowed thickly and shrugged, attempting for a smile which probably looked like a grimace.

"I'll be fine," he said nervously. "I trust Eddie."

"That's going to get you killed," Seamus said drily.

"It's worth a shot," Aleks said, standing up slowly from his crouching position. He stepped slowly over the rubble towards Eddie, and Eddie handed him a rock and led him to the edge. Aleks breathed in sharply. There had to be at least thirty zombies wandering about in the street, each in varying stages of decomposition.

"Hold back your arm, focus, wait and then throw it," Eddie explained. "Simple. Just aim for the head." Aleks nodded and held his arm back, shaking slightly. Eddie took a step back and Aleks hurled it weakly. It missed the zombie completely and clattered across the ground, nearly hitting a car.

"Try again," Eddie said, passing him another rock. "Just don't hit the cars. I haven't checked the alarms."

"We're going to die," Dan sighed.

"Can we go back now?" Steven asked nervously.

"Not until each of you have tried this," Eddie said. He looked back at Aleks and frowned, studying him for a moment.

"Here," he said. He took a step forward and moved Aleks' arm into another position.

"Throw with your wrist," he said. "You basically just move your shoulder and keep your arm straight. That way it aims it downwards, so you don't risk hitting a car."

"Sure," Aleks said shakily. "I'll try." Eddie nodded and sat on a larger piece of rubble, gesturing for him to throw. Aleks turned his attention back to the zombies and squinted at the shadowy people. He picked the zombie with a stupid gaudy hat and waited for a moment before throwing his rock with more power than before. It knocked her hat straight off and the zombie moaned in confusion.

"I hit it!" Aleks said in disbelief.

"He hit it!" Eddie cheered.

"Shut up!" Seamus snapped.

"Good work!" Eddie said, leaping up from his rock. "Don't slip when you step down."

"I actually hit it," Aleks marvelled giddily as he jumped down from the edge, smiling widely. "I knocked it's hat straight off."

"You should've tried to knock its socks off," Dan said, chuckling.

"Never use that joke again," Steven muttered. Dan frowned and started to reply when Eddie pointed at him.

"You're turn!" he sang. Dan paled a few shades.

"I'm not throwing rocks at a zombie!" he spluttered, inching back.

"Yes you are," Eddie said, walking forward and grabbing his arm, yanking him up. "If Aleks can do it, you can do it!"

"I suck at throwing things," Dan warned, trying to pull his arm back. "I'm not a sporty person!"

"This requires no athletic ability," Eddie said with a grin. "You'll be fine!" Eddie shoved him up onto the edge and Dan started to step backwards.

"No, no and no," Dan said firmly. "I'm not doing this."

"Come on Dan!" Eddie whined.

"It's actually really fun!" Aleks said. Dan shot a glare at him and Aleks shrugged, smiling.

"Once," Dan said. "I'm only doing this once."

"That's the spirit," Eddie said, shoving a rock into his hands. "Aim for the head." Dan sighed and turned to face the street, weighing the rock in his hand as he scanned the zombies, scowling.

"That one looks like my uncle," Dan muttered. "I hate my uncle." He wound his arm back and threw the rock hard. There was a thump and a trailed off moan and Eddie burst out laughing, his hands flying up to mouth to try and muffle the noise.

"What did you do?" Seamus demanded, standing up.

"I… I hit in the balls," Dan said sheepishly. "I really don't like my uncle." Eddie stumbled up and clapped Dan on the back, leading him from edge.

"That's Dan, everybody," he giggled. "Always going straight for the balls."

"Oh shut up!" Dan laughed, shoving him away.

"May I remind you that we're standing isolated on a roof surrounded by zombies?" Seamus said sweetly. "I suggest we move our asses out of here before we get eaten alive."

"What?" Steven yelped.

"He doesn't mean it," Eddie said calmly, glaring at Seamus. "No one's getting eaten alive. We're just having a bit of fun."

"Fun that's going to get us killed!" Seamus hissed. "This is too dangerous!"

"Lighten up a bit, Jesus!" Eddie said, his smile slipping. "We're just trying to unwind a bit."

"And that was kinda fun," Dan admitted.

"You're an idiot," Seamus said. "I'm going."

"Fine, not like anyone cares!" Eddie snapped. Seamus flipped him off and then walked back to the fire escape, stepping onto it and walking down the red stairs, his steps echoing on the metal.

"He's such a killjoy," Eddie muttered. Aleks watched Eddie's face and registered the small spark in his eyes before he smiled again.

"It's your turn Steven!" he said happily. "Come on, I'll show you what to do." And so for the next hour, they all took turns throwing rocks at the confused zombies below them, laughing when they got a good shot in. There was a part where everyone tried to copy Dan, aiming for the balls instead of the head, and Steven managed to get a knock out after pegging one right between the eyes. It was the best fun Aleks had experienced in a long time and he loved it. They didn't have to be on guard or careful: they just threw rocks at dead things and laughed, enjoying themselves. It was even darker when they all finally made it home, but Aleks felt more at peace.

At least you could still enjoy yourself in the Apocalypse.


	10. The Mountain Calls

**We're off to see the wizard...**

* * *

**CHAPTER NINE: THE MOUNTAIN CALLS**

_October 2nd, 2014_

Autumn was officially in full swing. The nights were colder, the days were crisp, the breeze was on and off, the trees were bare and you couldn't walk without making noise on the dead leaves.

It was horrible zombie weather.

"Rise and shine!" Jordan yelled, banging on the doors. Aleks sat upright, blinking quickly, his hand going to the side table. He had a gun on there like Dan, just in case. Dex had shaken them and everyone slept with their weapons close by. Dan looked over at him blearily and Aleks shrugged.

"What?" Eddie yelled from his room. "I don't wanna wake up yet!"

"We're leaving today!" Jordan announced. There was a moment of silence where everyone processed this, and then a flurry of swearing, thumping as people got out of – or fell of – beds and ran out of their rooms to find Jordan. He was sitting calmly in the kitchen drinking coffee like he hadn't just announced the end of their little lives.

"What the hell do you mean we're leaving?!" Eddie demanded. He didn't have a shirt on and Aleks noticed for the first time he had tattoos. _Zelda. Cool._

"I mean we're leaving," Jordan said, shrugging.

"We can't just… leave," Seamus said, rubbing his eyes and trying to focus on the room.

"What about all our stuff?" Steven asked. His hair was sticking up all over the place and it looked slightly hilarious, but then again Aleks' bedhead wasn't exactly beautiful.

"We pack the most important things," Jordan said.

"It's autumn! It'll be snowing before we know it and we can't trek through snow!" Dan yelled.

"It's an easy trip," Jordan said. "We're just going up the mountains, not across the country."

"Why now?" Aleks asked.

"Because, like Dan said, it'll be snowing soon," Jordan said. "We don't want to have to wait until next year to go."

"I'm going back to bed," Seamus said bluntly. "I don't deal with shit this early in the morning."

"You don't ever deal with shit," Eddie said.

"Exactly. Now I'm just going to hibernate until spring. Bye," Seamus said. He started to walk and Eddie reached back, grabbing his wrist and jerking him forward.

"Go get dressed and pack a small backpack of weapons, food and clothes. Whatever you think you need. I recommend small packs but… if you think you can carry it, bring a bigger one," Jordan ordered. "Now go. I'm having two more coffees and I expect you to be done by then."

"I hate you," Dan sighed. Jordan smiled.

"I know," he said. Everyone turned in almost unison and walked back up the hallway and up the stairs, dejected. Apparently they were leaving.

* * *

"It's cold," Eddie complained. "Why do we have to go now?"

"Because we have to leave," Jordan said, smiling and rocking back on his feet. "And you could've worn a warmer jacket."

"This is warm!" Eddie said defensively, hugging his jacket close to his chest.

"Then put it on if you're cold, dumbass," Seamus snapped. Eddie rolled his eyes and slipped into it, shivering.

"At least I don't look like a lumber jack," Eddie muttered.

"Don't insult my shirt," Seamus replied. "It's the only long-sleeved shirt I have and it's actually warm."

"It looks really thin though," Aleks said, frowning. "Aren't you freezing?" Seamus shrugged.

"Chicago is extremely cold," Seamus said. "I've been in worse. In my opinion, you're all pussies."

"Denver's cold!" Jordan retorted. "And I was living in Scotland for a fair part of my life and that place is freezing!"

"Not as cold as Chicago," Seamus replied, crossing his arms. "You're all weak in my ultimate power over cold." Jordan and Seamus argued for a few more moments and Aleks took the moment to look Seamus over. He looked a lot better than he had the previous week. He no longer looked exhausted, the circles under his eyes were gone and he'd been a sarcastic little bitch lately, meaning he was back to normal. How long until he started deteriorating?

"Can we just go?" Dan asked. "I'm freezing my ass off standing here."

"We're off then!" Jordan said. He spun around, his feet crunching on the leaves, and he jumped over the back gate.

"Are we off to see the wizard?" Eddie asked and Seamus sighed, rolling his eyes.

"It begins," he mumbled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Eddie asked, and Seamus looked away. Eddie made a face and looked in the opposite direction, and Aleks nearly laughed at their childishness. As they walked slowly down the streets, Aleks wondered what people would think if they saw them. They looked odd enough, with their mismatched clothes, but the weapons topped it off. Seamus was wearing his red and black shirt which looked too big on him and a black beanie pulled low, and the giant shotgun slung over his shoulder looked menacing enough. Eddie was in a black t-shirt with a blue hoodie and he had an array of knives strapped to his belt and a gun in his back pocket, as casual as you might be with your phone in your pocket. These sights was normal to Aleks, but people from before look at them and either call the police or mistake them for a gang and run away screaming. Although the most terrifying thing at the moment was that Aleks had found out what Jordan's choice weapon was.

He was in a red jacket with a quiver strapped over his back and he was holding a long, curved bow in his hand. He walked with it like it was completely normal, and Aleks made sure to stay back. It explained why he sat on the roof all the time: he had a bow. A _bow_, of all things. Dan caught him staring and smiled, drifting over to walk beside him.

"He used to compete in competitions," he explained. "He's really good. He hardly ever misses, and when he's in the zone… it's scary as hell."

"More of a reason not to get on his bad side," Aleks joked. Dan nodded and Aleks stared at the bow, noticing as flash of light. At the top of the bow, there was a purple ribbon tied in a bow. Aleks frowned.

"What's the ribbon for?" he asked. Dan pursed his lips and sighed, rubbing his hands together.

"It was his wife's," he said, voice low. "After she died, he took her ribbon and tied up there. He hasn't taken it off since."

"Who _was_ his wife?" Aleks asked, studying the ribbon. "You keep mentioning her."

"Monica," Dan said, smiling half-heartedly. "She was really sweet and she loved Jordan immensely. I think they either got married when he was twenty or nineteen, I can't remember. She used to be all giggly and happy around him and Jordan defended her with his life. Me and Seamus though, we didn't really like her. We thought she was just… too nice. We didn't want her taking advantage of him at all." He paused, sighing. "When it all went down, on the very first day. She was bitten. Jordan, he didn't know what to do. So he cleaned out the bite and he bandaged her up, and he told her to wait, because he thought he'd cleaned the infection out. He knew. I know he knew that it wouldn't work, he just couldn't bear it. Monica was scared and Jordan was scared, and Jordan just made her wait because he was hoping it worked. They went to sleep and… he woke up and she was a zombie." Dan finished off, voice barely a whisper.

"We… Jordan didn't want to kill her, he just tied her up. She was just sitting in the corner moaning and snapping at whoever came close. Jordan was a mess and we all offered at one point. If he just wanted to step outside and we'd…" Dan stopped, wiping his eyes. "Finally, he got sick of watching her. He didn't like seeing her in pain, and he just… he just picked up Eddie's gun and walked up to her. He said he was sorry and then he just shot her in the head. He didn't talk or cry; he just walked away and sat in his room. He didn't come out and we didn't check on him. We didn't want to go near him, because after five minutes you could hear him crying. It didn't sound human. He was so… he'd just snapped for a moment. He had to kill his wife, and in his eyes it was the second time. He blamed himself for making her wait it out. That's why he left when I said what I said. He regrets it every day." Aleks was silent, staring hard at Jordan's back. He couldn't imagine him like that.

"I'm sorry," Aleks said.

"It's not your fault," Dan said. He took a deep breath and wiped his eyes again, straightening. "No one talks about it. No one really talks about anyone they lost. But there was one night, a few weeks in. Everyone got sick of being silent and we all just let it out. We all had a few drinks and we sat out in the backyard listening to all the zombies in town, and we just… talked. About everyone we lost. That was the one and only time I saw Seamus cry, when he was talking about his girlfriend. She had gone with everyone else to the mountains and she hadn't called him and he talked about how worried he was and how helpless he felt not being able to protect her. Everyone just let their guard down and discussed it."

"It sounds like it would've been good for all of you," Aleks said softly. "To talk."

"Is there anyone you need to talk about?" Dan asked. "We know you were lying, and we didn't point it out because we know how it feels. About not wanting to talk about it. If you just want to… you can talk now, and I won't tell anyone." Aleks hesitated, his fingers tightening around the gun in his hand until his knuckles were white. He didn't want to talk about it, but Dan was projecting so much kindness it was hard not to. He understood.

"I…" Aleks trailed off. "I had a roommate. James. Before it all started, he went out to Wal-Mart to get food, and I just fell asleep. I woke up when my best friend Jakey came around yelling at me, because I'd slept through the beginning of the Apocalypse. He told me everyone was dying and then standing back up and there were fires and car crashes and there were a few explosions, and it was horrible. I asked him about it all and one of the first things that registered was that he said the shopping centre was completely overrun, and… it was like this sick feeling in my stomach, because I knew James was dead. I didn't want to believe it but I just _knew_. And then me and Jakey, we left. We waited until it calmed down a bit and we ran away. I felt like an idiot, running away, knowing I could've been with James. I couldn't believe the world had ended and I was _asleep_. Me and Jakey survived for a long time. We followed the highway out and it was… maybe a month ago when we both got trapped. There were only five zombies, and we took them out easily, but they'd gotten us cornered. I remember it so clearly sometimes it hurts. I was relieved because we'd made it and then Jakey, he just turned around to face me and he was crying because on his arm, just above his elbow, there was this huge bite and… I didn't know what to do. Jakey was crying so much because he didn't want to die, and I didn't… I didn't want him to die either but I didn't want to shoot him and I asked Jakey what he wanted, and he said he wanted my gun." Aleks paused for a moment and realised he was crying. "I didn't say anything, I just handed it to him and we sat there in the middle of the street for a while, and we talked it through, and then he started crying again and he just held up the gun and shot himself. I remember he fell to the side and there was blood everywhere and… I was just sitting there. He'd just shot himself through the fucking head right in front of me and I just sat there and didn't anything because I'm a coward." Aleks wiped his eyes angrily with his sleeve and looked over at Dan, who was watching him silently.

"I'm sorry," he said uselessly. "I should've of said all that. I'm sorry." Aleks forced a laugh. "I say sorry a lot. It's lost its meaning now."

"Sorry lost its meaning when dead people started walking," Dan sighed. "It's pointless to apologise for people's losses now."

"You should've said something," Eddie said, suddenly appearing by Aleks' side and giving him a heart attack. "We would've understood."

"You heard all that?" Aleks asked. Eddie laughed.

"We're in an empty street with no cars or other people. Everyone heard it," Eddie said, patting him on the shoulder. "Seriously though. We've all lost people and we've all had to help each other through it. We practically qualify as therapists now."

"Hate to break up your little heart to heart, but dead people have ears," Seamus interrupted. "We've been walking and talking too loud. We've got company." Everyone looked up the street and there was a chorus of sighs, curses and safety's being turned off. A horde of a good forty zombies were stumbling down the street towards them, and they'd realised they were here.

"Shit," Dan muttered, pulling a handgun out of pocket. "There's nowhere to hide and we'd have to back track over the cars to get to the next turn off. They'd catch up."

"Then we're gonna fight them," Jordan called over his shoulder. "Steven, get behind Seamus. Dan, stay by Aleks." Jordan then veered off to the right, running to the nearest car and jumping up on the hood. He walked up the windscreen and stood on the roof. In one smooth motion he reached over his shoulder, pulling an arrow out of his quiver and notching in his bow. He pulled the string back and Eddie held up his knives in time with Seamus raising his shotgun. There was a beat of calm and then the moaning started.

Jordan fired.

"Go!" Seamus yelled. He pumped a round out and sprayed the nearest zombies and Eddie rushed forward, jumping over a stroller and diving in low. He slashed in a round circle and the zombies in front of them fell, their legs slashed deeply.

"Go forward!" Dan ordered. He started to run and Aleks followed, pulling a knife out of his pocket. The handgun wouldn't be useful this close up. Dan stopped short, holding up his gun and firing. One zombie fell, its leg suddenly useless, and Aleks ran forward to help Eddie. Eddie was swiping methodically, aiming for legs and necks. One zombie lunged forward – relatively new to the infection and still fast – and Eddie dodged to the left, putting his weight on his back foot. The zombie barrelled past and Eddie slammed his knife down into its back, ripping to the left. There was a spray of blood and the zombie fell, twitching.

"Go for the spines and the heads!" Eddie yelled over the noise. "If they get to close, knock them down or slash their legs!"

"Got it!" Aleks replied. He ducked under one zombie's flailing grasp and came face to face with another. The flesh had peeled from his chin, revealed a blood-stained jaw and a mess of ripped flesh around the edges. Its eyes rolled in its sockets and blood dripped from its hairline, a long strip of flesh having been pulled away and showing a cracked skull beneath. Aleks fought down the sick feeling in his stomach and stabbed forward, putting all his weight into the movement. It landed in its neck and Aleks twisted. The flesh pulled and distorted, blood spraying forward half-heartedly before oozing, and Aleks ripped it out savagely. The zombie made a gurgled moan and fell back into another zombie, which hissed and leapt onto Aleks. It knocked him down and pinned him there, snapping close to his face. Aleks shoved its shoulder back with his free hand and drove the knife forward into its eye, yanking it out the knife and bringing the eyeball with him. The zombie screeched in fury and swiped down, and Aleks panicked and slashed randomly. Its finger fell off and Aleks got his feet beneath him, pressing them against the zombie's stomach and throwing it off. Eddie was suddenly there, hauling him up, and then he was gone again. There was a loud, bubbly cry and then a zombie fell, its throat ripped out, revealing Eddie in front of it. Eddie smiled and waved and then spun in a quick circle, slashing two zombies across the chest. Aleks moved forward to stab another when it suddenly stumbled back, its milky eyes widening in shock. Its hands rose up in confusion to touch the arrow protruding from its temple and then it fell back, twitching haphazardly and managing to knock another zombie down. It fell at Aleks' feet and he kicked it hard, the skull cracking and caving in under his boot.

"Ew," Aleks muttered. Gunshots echoed and Aleks caught a glimpse of Seamus, firing a round and then reloading swiftly. Aleks backed away from the area he was shooting and turned, banging right into a zombie which seemed as surprised as him. It moaned and when it opened its jaw, it kept widening. The skin and muscle had rotted away and on one side, its jaw was unhinged, showing a sickly green mouth and small rotting yellow stubs for teeth. One eye was a milky white, unseeing, but the other was focused on his face. It stretched out its arms and Aleks stabbed it in the face. He tried to pull the knife out but it didn't, instead yanking the zombie closer. It moaned again, stinking breath hitting Aleks straight in the face. Aleks yanked his gun out and pressed it against the zombie's nose, squeezing the trigger. There was an explosion of red mist and then most of the zombie's head was missing. It slumped forward on Aleks and he pushed it aside, shuddering. Jordan was shooting quickly and many zombies were falling, arrows suddenly embedded in their heads, and Eddie worked like a whirlwind, his knives a blur as he aimed for weak spots and sent zombies to the ground. Dan was standing on the edge of the chaos firing and pushing zombies back with Steven behind him, holding a gun in his shaky hand. Seamus was moving in closer, his wide-range weapon spraying out buckshot and sending multiple zombies back or killing them. Eddie would then leap on those zombies and finish them off before they could rise up. Aleks mainly followed Eddie's lead, stabbing and slashing as fast as he could and pulling out his gun when it got too thick. Finally there was nothing left to kill, and there was a collective sigh of relief. Seamus lowered his smoking gun and Eddie sat down heavily, panting. Aleks leaned up against a car and tried to catch his breath.

"That was quick," Jordan said, jumping down from his car. To Aleks, it felt like hours.

"That's a new record," Dan said, tucking his gun away. "Just an hour."

"That was forty maybe?" Eddie said, looking over at Jordan. "They were hard. Mostly fresher zombies and only a few Oldies." Seamus walked over to Eddie and offered a hand. Eddie took it gratefully and Seamus hauled him up, holstering his shotgun over his shoulder.

"I just cleaned these," Eddie muttered, examining his knives.

"I'm glad you convinced me to bring spares," Aleks called as he pushed off the car, joining the pair. "I lost one of them. It got stuck in his face." Eddie nodded understandingly and Dan and Jordan walked over, Steven sticking close to them.

"I'm gonna collect what arrows didn't get damaged," Jordan said, scratching the back of his neck. "Go rest. You did great."

"Hell yeah we did!" Eddie said happily. "Aleks was great, too, for his first time. He was really precise with his blows and he killed way more than I did when we first fought together."

"I never want to do that again," Aleks said seriously. "I miss my rifle."

"Rifles suck," Seamus said. "You don't want a rifle fighting zombies."

"It worked for me!" Aleks said defensively, crossing his bloody arms over his chest.

"Yeah, that's why we found you on the ground about to get eaten," Seamus said. Aleks scowled and he shrugged. "It's true."

"We're wasting precious resting time!" Eddie butted in. "Come on!" Dan was sitting on the hood of a car with Steven beside him, and the trio walked over quickly. Jordan was walked through the dead bodies, pulling arrows out of their bodies and checking to see if any were broken before replacing them in his quiver.

"That was exhausting," Eddie said, flopping over the front of the car.

"Drama queen," Seamus muttered.

"I didn't break a sweat," Dan said.

"Because you were back here sitting on your ass!" Eddie retorted, rolling onto his back and looking up at the blue sky. "You don't go up in the middle of it all!"

"We could've done better," Seamus said. "It wasn't the same. Dex would've-" Seamus stopped and everyone went quiet.

"Sorry," Seamus said.

"It's true though," Eddie said carefully. "Dex was really good at it. He wasn't afraid to have them surrounding him. He'd keep his cool. It was amazing."

"He had nothing to lose," Seamus said. "That's why he wasn't afraid."

"We probably would've been done in twenty minutes with him in there," Eddie said, laughing without humour. "He was quick."

"You've got a very large shadow to step out of," Dan said in Aleks' direction.

"What?" Aleks said. "I… I'm not replacing Dex. Obviously he was amazing."

"Why would we be replacing anyone?" Seamus asked, irritated. "You can't replace a fighter."

"You can't replace a _friend_," Eddie said mournfully.

"It was just a comparison," Dan sighed. "I didn't mean it hurtfully. I was just pointing out that we took a little longer without Dex and with Aleks."

"Let's just stop talking about it," Steven said, surprising everyone when he spoke up. "It'll just start an argument."

"I'm done!" Jordan sang as he navigated over the bodies to them. "Ready to keep going?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"Nope!"

"Then let's go."


	11. The Throne Cracks

**Are you bamboozled yet?**

* * *

**CHAPTER TEN: THE THRONE CRACKS**

_October 4th, 2014_

The building was cold and damp, but it was home for the night. It was better than the first night: they'd been in a supermarket full of rotting foods. It was horrible, and this was far more favourable. Everyone had unpacked their blankets the night before and Jordan had started a fire for them to sleep around. They were on the third story of a burnt out business building and they'd positioned themselves in one of the less destroyed offices. They'd talked and then eaten and then slept.

Simple.

Aleks was still blinking sleep out of his eyes as he pulled his jacket on, watching Seamus curse as he looked for his glasses. He'd put them in his bag overnight so no one stepped on them and now he couldn't find them.

"You know who you remind me of?" Dan asked. "Velma. That chick from Scooby-Doo who kept losing her glasses, and then she'd whine about it."

"Am I whining, Dan?" Seamus asked through gritted teeth. "No. No I'm not."

"You're swearing violently and throwing the innocent contents of your bag around," Dan pointed out.

"What was it that girl said?" Eddie asked Dan, and he smiled.

"My glasses, my glasses, I can't see without my glasses!" Dan said in a high-pitched imitation of a girl's voice. He made a shocked face and Seamus glared at him.

"How about instead of mocking me you actually do something productive?" Seamus growled.

"Jinkies, don't be so mean!" Dan cried, still doing his girl voice.

"I swear to god I'll kill you," Seamus said calmly.

Dan stopped.

"Let's go, slowpokes," Jordan yelled from outside.

"He didn't just say slowpokes, did he?" Eddie sighed. "He's so old man-ish."

"We can't go until Velma finds her glasses!" Dan yelled back.

"Who's Velma?" Jordan said as he poked his head through the door. Dan looked hurt.

"Did you even childhood?" Dan asked, shocked, and Jordan looked confused. Aleks watched Seamus rifle around in his bag so more before he kicked it across the room, irritation easily visible on his face.

"I put them in my bag!" Seamus yelled. "Where the hell could they go?"

"Maybe there's a portal in your bag," Aleks suggested. "They teleported away."

"Oh look," Eddie said casually, opening his bag. "You put them in my bag by accident." Seamus stared at him blankly.

"Eddie," he said with forced calm, "Why didn't you mention that before?"

"I didn't look in my bag before," Eddie said, shrugging and trying not to smile. Seamus closed his eyes and rubbed his face and walked slowly over to his bag, picking it up. He looked at it for a moment before whipping it hard at Eddie. Eddie yelped as if smacked into his chest, sending him backwards over the desk he was perched on. Seamus walked over and picked up his glasses, craning his neck over the desk to look at him.

"Thanks," Seamus said sweetly. There was a muffled 'Jinkies' from Eddie's direction and Seamus kicked the table. Eddie laughed and popped up from behind the desk, rubbing the back of his head and holding two bags.

"Let's go," Jordan sighed. "You're all acting like children."

* * *

It was far too cold to be up this early. Aleks trudged along beside Dan and Steven, talking about the odd weather. Jordan was in front and Seamus and Eddie were behind them. There was a lull in the conversation and Steven spoke up.

"What was your favourite game?" Steven asked. "I liked Cards against Humanity. It was fun."

"Anything with Batman in it," Dan said. "I love Batman so much it hurts."

"I liked a bunch of different games," Aleks shrugged. "I didn't get much time to play them, but I loved horror games. I thought getting scared was fun, I guess."

"Cool," Dan said. He smiled slyly. "We all know what Jordan's favourite game was. Seamus, what's Jordan's favourite game?"

"Brink. He loved Brink so much," Seamus said. "Brink was the best game ever created and Jordan just _loved_ it."

"Don't talk about that game!" Jordan said, looking at them over his shoulder. "That game was a disgrace to humanity!"

"I've never played Brink," Aleks said, confused. "What's Brink?"

"A piece of shit!" Eddie yelled.

"Bless your untarnished soul," Dan sighed. "Never play Brink. Ever."

"Uh… sure," Aleks said, still confused.

"I think I'm gonna get Brink tattooed on my ass," Eddie said thoughtfully. "Seamus, will you get a Brink tattoo with me?"

"When I'm dead," Seamus replied flatly. "I don't even want to think about that game." Everyone lapsed into a comfortable silence and Aleks heard Eddie humming behind him.

"Hey, check this out!" Seamus called five minutes later. Aleks and Dan turned and saw Seamus standing by a body. "It's… blown up or something. Look at its legs." Aleks approached warily and Dan gulped. The zombie had no legs, on the left from the knee down and on the right from around the middle of its thigh. The bones were protruding out from a gruesome mess of gnarled flesh and dried blood.

"Dude, that's gross," Dan muttered.

"It's smart," Seamus countered. "It's an Oldie, so its body would've been weak and easy to smash. Blowing it up however they did was genius."

"How would they have rigged it?" Aleks asked. "They couldn't just throw a bomb or something at a zombie and expect it to die."

"It's only damaged here," Seamus said, nudging one of its legs with his foot. "Maybe a tripwire."

"How would they have made a tripwire?" Dan asked, confused. "You'd need explosives and wire and all that stuff, but most of that was looted in the beginning."

"What if there's more?" Steven asked innocently. There was silence and then Aleks and Seamus had both whirled around, starting to run. Aleks scanned the ground and noticed more the ruined bodies, all placed somewhat evenly between each other. Which meant there were more wires. The bodies stopped behind Jordan, and Aleks realised with a gasp that there was probably another wire _right in front of Jordan_. Another look of head revealed the danger. There was a thin, silver wire stretched over the street, just like Steven had said

"Jordan!" Aleks screamed. He was nearly there and then Jordan took another step and the wire snapped. There was a burst of white light and a small boom and then Aleks was on his back staring up at the sky, his ears ringing and his body numb. He could dimly hear someone crying out and someone yelling out his name but his head was pounding and everything seemed bleached of colour. Eddie suddenly appeared above him, his mouth moving and no noise coming out. Then the world was regaining colour and Aleks could feel again and the ringing was fading but still there and Eddie was screaming, tugging him up. Aleks looked around, his vision swimming. Dan and Steven were dragging an unconscious Jordan between them and Seamus was stumbling ahead of him, his movements sluggish.

"Oh Jesus, oh god, Aleks, come on!" Aleks heard Eddie repeating himself frantically. Aleks' eyes were drooping shut and Eddie cursed. He grabbed his arm and pulled it over his shoulder, trying to pull him upright.

"Aleks, Aleks listen to me, stay awake! I can't carry you, you have to walk, please stay awake!" Eddie ordered desperately. Aleks tried to walk but he was dragging his feet. Everything hurt and he moaned in pain. Seamus fell down on his hands and knees, shaking. There was another boom behind them and Steven was yelling at Dan to go faster.

"It's set off a chain reaction!" Steven yelled. "Get into a building now!"

"Jordan!" Dan shrieked. "He's not breathing!" Eddie stopped by Seamus and grabbed the back of his shirt, hauling him up.

"Go!" Eddie yelled. Seamus looked forward in confusion, unable to focus on his surroundings and Eddie shoved him hard, trying to get him to move. "I said go, you fat piece of shit! Move it!" Seamus muttered something unintelligible and started walking forward, Eddie occasionally pushing him.

"In there!" Dan yelled, but Aleks' vision was starting to cloud around the edges. His movements started to slow and Eddie shook him violently, desperation tinging his voice.

"Aleks, stay awake! Aleks, god dammit, Aleks! Stay awake! Stay aw-"

Black.

* * *

Aleks was promptly thrown down on a pile of something soft and he heard frantic voices around him.

"Put him on the counter!"

"He's not breathing! He's not fucking breathing, Dan!"

"What do we do? What do you do for people who aren't breathing?!"

"What if it's internal? What if he dies?"

"Get out of my way, I know what to do!"

"What if he-"

"He's not going to die, so take a god damned step back!"

Aleks blinked and tried to stand up but his limps were like jelly. So instead he just fell asleep again.

* * *

"Steven, look! He's trying to-"

"We need to keep going! We can't risk-"

* * *

"Move Jordan over there. He'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Where's Seamus? Wandering around trying to get his feet under him again?"

"I don't he should be alone. What if there are- oh Jesus! Aleks! What's wrong with-"

* * *

"This is going to hurt. I'm sorry," Steven said softly. Aleks felt an explosive pain in the back of his head and he screamed.

* * *

The next time Aleks awoke, he was lying on his back in a pile of something soft. His head throbbed and he winced. He wanted to open his eyes bit his eyelids felt too heavy, so he just lied there and listening. There was the crackling sound of a fire and Steven and Eddie, talking softly.

"All three of them will be fine," Steven said quietly. "Seamus is concussed, but he'll be fine in a day. Jordan… He'll recover, but he's gonna be shaken up. And we're lucky with Aleks. It could've been worse."

"Thank god you know what you know, right?" Eddie said, laughing softly. "We would've been seriously screwed."

"It was nothing," Steven said. "I just did what had to be done."

"You stepped up to the plate when no one else could, and it was amazing. You were calm and brave and it was awesome. Usually you're all squeamish but… god, I think Dan threw up when you pulled that thing out of Aleks. But you were completely fine." Aleks cracked open his eyes and gazed around the room, blinking in the dark. He was lying on a pile of clothes with a blanket through over him, something rough stuck to the back of his head. Racks of clothing had been moved to form a small protective circle around them, and there was fire pit burning slowly in the middle of the circle. Eddie and Steven sat by it, wrapped up.

"Hey," Aleks said. His own voice surprised him. His throat was parched and his voice was weak and annoying in multiple ways.

"He's awake!" Eddie said, brightening. He stood up and walked over, dropping to his knees in front of Aleks. "How are you feeling? How's your head?" Aleks propped himself up on his elbows, one hand going up to gingerly touch the rough thing on the back of his head.

"What happened to my head?" Aleks mumbled. Eddie's happy mood faded and he frowned.

"When Jordan tripped the wire, it set off a bunch of explosions. You and Seamus, you'd both run forward and you got a lot of the blast but Jordan took the brunt of it," Eddie explained. "Jordan nearly didn't make it. He wouldn't have if we didn't have Steven. And Seamus just has a concussion, and we didn't think anything was wrong with you until maybe ten minutes later. We were helping Jordan lie down and then we noticed you were kinda lying in a lot of blood. Steven rolled you over and you had this huge thing of rock just… sticking out of your head. When you got thrown back, you must've landed on it. Steven pulled it out, cleaned it out, stitched you up. You'll be sore but you'll live."

"I don't remember any of that," Aleks said, frowning. "But it explains the headache. Is Jordan okay?"

"He's sleeping," Steven said, standing up. "I'll go check on him." Steven pushed some clothes to the side and stepped through the rack, disappearing.

"Where are we?" Aleks asked. "And what time is it?"

"It's nearly midnight I think," Eddie said with a shrug. "You were out of it all day, Jordan hasn't moved and Seamus has been wandering around. We didn't want to force you into moving. And we're in Target," Eddie laughed. "Seamus hates it. The look on his face when we told him was priceless." Aleks smiled, although he didn't get the joke.

"Where did the tripwires come from?" Aleks asked. "Did we find out?"

"It must've been someone's defence system," Eddie said. "That's what Dan thinks. They set it up to keep the zombies out."

"I would appreciate it if it hadn't nearly killed us," Aleks muttered.

"That's what we're all thinking," Eddie said with a smile. "If everyone's feeling up to it, we're leaving tomorrow morning. The base of the mountain path is only ten minutes from here."

"I found Seamus!" someone yelled suddenly. Dan shoved a rack aside and dragged Seamus into the circle, and he looked around in confusion.

"Where are we again?" Seamus asked.

"Target. We're still in Target," Dan replied. Seamus scowled.

"I hate Target," he muttered. "Stupid old ladies."

"We know you hate Target," Dan said, sighing. "You said that about twenty times, after you asked where we were again."

"I don't know what I'm doing," Seamus said.

"You're sitting down," Dan said, pushing him lightly towards the fire. Seamus sat down slowly, wincing.

"Come over to the fire," Eddie said. "It's warmer." Eddie helped Aleks stand up and helped him over, and Aleks only then realised how cold it was. Aleks shivered and Eddie smiled sympathetically.

"Me and Steven were going through all the clothes before," he said. "We found a bunch of coats and warmer clothes. Most of us have gotten changed." Aleks looked over at Seamus and nodded slowly. He hadn't noticed they'd gotten changed, although Seamus was most obvious. He was wearing dark jeans and a black shirt now with a purple jacket on his shoulders, not wearing it. Earlier he'd been in brighter clothing, and Aleks cursed himself for being so slow. _Slowness gets you killed._ Aleks sat down slowly, his body aching. He now understood why Seamus had taken so long to sit, and Jordan had taken the brunt of the explosion. He probably couldn't move.

"Dan! Move the rack!" Steven called, his voice muffled by the layers of clothes. Dan stood up quickly and slid the racks out of the way, revealing Steven struggling under the weight of Jordan.

"Jordan!" everyone chorused. Dan rushed forward and helped Steven pull him in. Jordan was limping, barely able to take a step without the pair's aid.

"Hi," Jordan said with a small smile. Steven kicked a box over and Jordan sat down heavily, rubbing his leg absently. Dan sat down beside him, steadying him when he nearly fell off.

"How you feeling, boss man?" Eddie asked as Steven wandered over to sit beside him.

"Like I got hit my truck," Jordan replied. "At least in the places where I can actually feel anything."

"I'm glad you're alive," Seamus said. "It would've sucked if you died."

"Apparently I _did_ die," Jordan said, his brow furrowing.

"But Super Steven saved your life!" Eddie said, tapping Steven's shoulder with a bright smile. Steven smiled sheepishly and Jordan nodded in his direction.

"Thanks. Dying doesn't sound fun," Jordan said. Steven shrugged and looked down, picking at his jeans. _Huh. It seems like near-death experiences really bring him out. _

"Are we gonna eat or not?" Dan interrupted. "I wanna at least get some sleep."

"Bring out the food!" Eddie said. Dan retreated to his bag, retrieving six cans of food.

"Soup," he said, reading the label. "Sounds great." He walked around and handed out the food before returning to his seat by Jordan. There was a series of cracks as the cans were snapped opened and then everyone started drinking it straight from the can. No one had time for spoons. Aleks, personally, was starving.

"We survived the day," Steven said quietly, staring into the fire. "I'm surprised."

"That attitude won't get you anywhere!" Eddie snorted. "You need to be happier! Like, 'oh my god yay we lived!' or something!"

"I'm never saying that. Ever," Steven said, frowning. Eddie pouted and then Dan managed to restart the conversation about games. Soon Dan and Eddie were arguing over which Batman game was better while Steven tried to argue that the Spiderman game was the best, and whenever Jordan was asked his opinion he would just say Mass Effect – even when it was a yes or no question, which confused Aleks to no end – and Seamus didn't talk. He just stared at Aleks. He averted his eyes to Eddie, who threw his head back and laughed at Dan's joke. Seamus kept his eyes on Aleks, frowning, like he was trying to figure him out.

_You and me both._


	12. Blood Stains

**I bet you're bamboozled.**

* * *

**CHAPTER ELEVEN: BLOOD STAINS**

_October 5th, 2014_

"Are you sure you'll be alright to walk?" Dan asked worriedly. Jordan waved him off, smiling.

"I'll be fine!" he laughed. The truth was that he wouldn't. He was walking with a limp, he winced whenever he took a step and that was just walking from the fire to his bag.

"Sure," Dan said uncertainly. "Just… don't tire yourself. If you want to stop, just say, and we'll stop."

"It's not that bad!" Jordan exclaimed. "I'm not dying!"

"Because you already died," Dan retorted, crossing his arms. He looked troubled. "I don't think we should go."

"We're going," Jordan insisted. "We're running out of time. It's what… October now? At this rate and with these temperatures, it'll be snowing by November."

"Jordan, you got blown up yesterday. You shouldn't be walking. Rate your pain right now from one to ten."

"Three," Jordan said defiantly, crossing his arms like Dan.

"Don't bullshit me," Dan snapped. "Be honest." He and Jordan glared at each other for a moment, eyes narrowed, and then Jordan sighed.

"Eleven," he mumbled.

"We're not going!" Dan called.

"Fine with me," Seamus said, sitting back down and curling up in his blanket. "I'm freezing."

"It must be cold if our Chicago boy is 'freezing'," Eddie said, patting the mound that was Seamus. Seamus' hand emerged from the pile and flipped Eddie off, and Eddie pushed his hand back down gently. Dan snorted at his behaviour and shifted the racks, walking away. _Probably to the bathroom._

"He's moody this morning," Aleks said, rubbing the bandage on his head and frowning.

"It's just mornings," Eddie said reassuringly. "He isn't a morning person." His smile slipped. "Or a day person. Or an afternoon person. Or a night person. Or a-"

"Shut up, Eddie, we got the point," Seamus mumbled. "I'm not an anything person."

"Exactly," Eddie said, poking the pile. Seamus' foot came out of nowhere and kicked him and Eddie frowned. Then he flopped to the left, lying on the pile and smirking.

"You're so comfortable," Eddie said happily.

"Get the hell off me!" Seamus yelled.

"No!" Eddie replied. "I'm all comfy now!" Seamus wiggled around desperately but Eddie wouldn't budge, lying over him with an easy smile on his face. Finally Seamus stopped, defeated.

"If I suffocate I'm blaming you," he mumbled. Eddie shrugged, the movement awkward in his current position.

"Hurry up and die so I can take your corpse to the tattoo salon," Eddie said. "I'm still waiting on that Brink tattoo."

"I'm going to go and deliberately get bitten by zombie just so I can eat you."

"I always knew you wanted to eat me up."

"You're disgusting."

"I know," Eddie replied. Aleks watched Eddie sit there more a moment longer until he got bored, and then he rolled off Seamus. Seamus sat up quickly, kicking all the blankets off and taking a deep breath.

"Fresh air," he said, shooting a dirty look in Eddie's direction. "Stop trying to kill me."

"It was an accident!" Eddie said innocently, holding up his hands. Seamus leaned back in his pile, grabbing his jacket and yanking it on. Aleks sighed and pulled his own jacket around his head tighter.

"This bandage is itching like hell," he complained. "Can I take it off?"

"I don't want to expose your stitches," Steven said, holding his hands out to the fire. "I just want it to heal. I suck at stitching."

"You could've mentioned that yesterday," Aleks muttered, scratching the back of his head around the bandage.

"You were completely out of it and you were too busy screaming," Steven pointed out. "I doubt you would've cared."

"I wish we kept that piece of stone," Eddie said. "We could've put it in a bag and you could've carried it around and showed it people." Aleks stared at him, disgusted, and Eddie shrugged, grinning. "What? It would've been awesome!"

"What would I say?" Aleks asked. "I can't just say, 'oh yeah, I got blown up once and stabbed myself in the back of the head with this rock! Look at all the dried blood!' because they'd think I was insane."

"You're already halfway there; why not just finish the deal?" Eddie giggled. "I know this great asylum you could go to."

"What, are we gonna be roommates?"

"Probably. My mum was talking about booking me in just last month."

"I'm going to request I get put in the other side of the asylum."

"You can't escape me!" Eddie laughed. "I'll follow you everywhere!" While Eddie and Aleks continued to banter, they didn't notice Jordan blinking rapidly.

"Um," Jordan said. Then he fell backwards off his box with a thump, startling Eddie and making Aleks yelp.

"Jordan!" Steven cried. He scrambled up and ran to Jordan with Eddie already there, grabbing Jordan by the shoulders and propping him up against the pile of clothes Dan had slept on. Steven checked his pulse and then stopped, frowning.

"He's not dying again," he said, puzzled. "I think he fainted."

"Maybe it just dawned on him that he got blown up and that he died," Eddie suggested. "Maybe he's in shock."

"Maybe," Steven frowned, staring at Jordan.

"What happened?" Dan asked as he walked back in. He spotted Jordan and his eyes widened. "Is he okay?"

"We think he passed out," Eddie explained. Dan looked confused and he walked over.

"He mentioned that he was in a lot of pain," Dan said, scratching his chin. "Maybe it was the pain."

"Whatever it is, he isn't bleeding profusely or spontaneously combusting," Steven said. "He's still breathing and he's just asleep."

"Leave him be then," Eddie shrugged. Steven nodded and then shifted Jordan around until he was sitting up, the clothes piled strategically behind him with Dan's help. Then everyone backed away into their spots and spoke quietly amongst themselves while Jordan slept somewhat peacefully.

It was oddly calm.

* * *

_October 8th, 2014_

Jordan limped forward, Dan sticking close to him. The air was cold against skin and Aleks' cheeks were red already. He flipped his hood up and shivered, the metal of his gun cold against his palm.

"It's cold," Eddie muttered, pulling his jacket tighter around him. Eddie was wearing at least three layers: a shirt, a sweater and a jacket. His knives were under his sweater, and he'd discarded his ammo belts into Dan's care. Dan had joking unclipped them and was wearing them like suspenders, hidden under his jumper. Seamus was keeping his head down, his shotgun holster empty and partially hidden by his backpack. He was holding it in his hands instead, jumping at every little noise. Jordan was in his red jumper still, his quiver over his right shoulder and his backpack on the other, his bow clasped tightly in his shaking hands. Steven had a gun tucked in his pocket and was shuddering against the wind, having opted to only wear a thin black jumper. They were all freezing, grumpy and tired – not a good combination.

"How easy would this be if we could just get a car?" Seamus muttered. "Just drive up the mountain to this little civilization and say hi."

"How badly would it suck if we made it and there was no one there?" Eddie said, chuckling nervously. No one replied. It was a fear deeply rooted in everyone. They'd walk for miles, suffer through the weather and zombies and arrive only to find nothing. There would be nothing to live for after that, and returning to Littleton would be impossible. It could be snowing by then and they'd have to wait for months until it was safe enough.

"Watch for zombies," Jordan called. "They like the cold."

"Of course they do," Steven mumbled. Over the past few days Steven had started slowly turning back into his old self: barely talking or moving from his little spot unless he was needed, fidgeting restlessly with his box. It was starting to worry all of them, how quickly he went from happy and present to… not.

"Just past these buildings and then we'll be at the bottom of the path!" Dan said cheerily.

"Thank god," Seamus said. "I'm sick of the streets. Too many hiding places."

"So you prefer a dark and spooky forest with trees and leaves to hide dead things in?" Aleks asked innocently. Seamus shot a glare at him and Aleks shrugged. "I'm just saying!"

"Keep it up and you'll be one of those dead things," Seamus snapped.

"Wow, okay, calm down," Aleks huffed. "No need to get all pissy with me."

"You make it extremely hard to _not_ get pissy," Seamus muttered.

"Have you noticed how no one really likes Aleks?" Eddie mused. "It's sorta depressing."

"Studies have shown that Aleks isn't a likable person," Dan joked, trying to sound serious.

"Okay, thanks. You're all great," Aleks said, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll just go back now."

"No one's gonna stop you," Seamus said.

"No asked for your opinion," Aleks replied, sniffing.

"It's a free country," Seamus retorted. "Remember? America! Patriotism! Freedom! Dramatic eagles flying into the distance when you sing the national anthem!"

"You see very Anti-American for an American," Eddie said, poking his arm. "Is it possible for you to like anything?"

"No," Seamus answered. "My doctor told me it's physically impossible to like things. A very professional diagnosis."

"Sounds like a good doctor," Dan said. "Can I have his number?"

"Sorry Dan, they haven't invented a cure for stupidity yet," Seamus replied sweetly.

"Are you still in primary school? That was very primary school of you. I'm shocked by your primary school-ness," Dan said, frowning.

"Oh look," Jordan said, stopping abruptly. "We're here." Most people stopped but Steven ran into Aleks by accident, not paying attention.

"Sorry," he said softly.

"You know this place seemed kinda peaceful before," Eddie said, studying the edge of the forest. "Now it seems a bit evil."

"Because it's full of dead things," Dan said.

"Well let's go then!" Seamus said sarcastically. "I'm totally okay with getting eaten. I had it planned for five this afternoon by hey, why not move it up?"

"Seamus is in a bad mood," Eddie pouted, poking his arm again repeatedly. "He missed nap time and now he's all moody."

"Shut up Eddie," Seamus said, taking a step to the left and out of poking range.

"Are we ready to go in?" Jordan asked.

"No."

"Never."

"I'm not looking forward to it."

"Can we go home yet?"

"That's the spirt!" Jordan said brightly. "Let's go!" he started forward, ignoring his limp and humming 'We're off to see the Wizard' loudly under his breath.

"On a scale of one to five, what are the odds of us dying?" Aleks asked.

"Seven," Eddie replied, smiling. "Let's go!" Eddie skipped forward to join Jordan, singing along with him, and Seamus took a step back.

"We're incredibly screwed," he said, shaking his head slowly.

"Indeed we are," Dan said, nodding. "Let's get this over and done with."

* * *

It was maybe an hour into their walk when they first found the blood. Eddie and Jordan had been singing songs together and leading the way, Steven was trailing along to the left looking into the trees; Dan was watching Steven to make sure he didn't fall in a ditch and Seamus was walking beside Aleks. By some magical miracle, they weren't arguing. Then Eddie stopped and held out an arm, stopping Jordan as well.

"That isn't natural," he said, confused.

"What is it?" Seamus asked, craning his neck. Dan walked forward to look and then backpedalled quickly, eyes wide. Seamus and Aleks exchanged a look and the walked forward to see, quickly wishing they hadn't.

Staining the grass and splashed up the trees, there was blood. A lot of blood. The dirt had been made into a thick mud and Dan gagged at the stench.

"That's… a lot of blood," Aleks said softly.

"Yeah," Seamus agreed. "It is." Then Steven yelped and everyone turned to look at him. He was scrambling back up to the road, looking panicked.

"Bodies!" he said quickly. "A lot of bodies!"

"What?" Seamus muttered, shifting his shotgun in his grip. "Anything moving?"

"No! Just… just a lot of bodies," Steven said nervously. "They looked like they'd been r-ripped apart." Steven was shaking, and he rubbed his arms, stepping to the right. Seamus walked forward and retraced Steven's steps, going down the slight slope to the edge of the trees just off the path. Seamus peered through and then took a step back.

"Oh Jesus," he said under his breath. "There has to be at least ten of them. They… they must have been moved. There's no blood over here."

"They must've died here," Eddie said, gesturing behind him at the bloody mess. "And someone put them over there."

"They're in a row," Seamus reported. "It's pretty gruesome. They're all wearing bandanas or something over their eyes." Aleks steeled himself and then trotted down the slope, looking through. He nearly lost his lunch. The bodies were practically torn apart and destroyed but were arranged in one neat row. The closet one looked to be a woman with dark brown hair and pale skin, a red patterned bandana placed over her eyes. Her stomach had been torn open and you could see what remained of her insides: a mess of red flesh, organs and whatever else was in there. There were long scratches starting somewhere hidden beneath the bandana, stretching down her cheek and curving down her jaw and stopping mid-neck. Bloody scratches adorned her arms and whole sections of her flesh had been ripped away messily. There was one man whose arm had been gnawed at up to the elbow, bone fragments embedded in the reddened flesh of what was once his arm. He too had a bandana over his eyes, a plain green on.

"Zombies?" Aleks asked, his throat dry.

"Maybe. Probably Biters unless it was a pack of Oldies. Only they can do that much damage," Seamus said quietly.

"Did anyone leave a sign?" Jordan called down. "Who put them like that?"

"Who would want to drag dead bodies from all the way up here down there? Why not bury them?" Eddie asked, his good mood shaken.

"What if whoever did it is still around?" Dan said, spooked. "We should keep moving."

"Do we stick to the path or…?" Eddie trailed off, looking to Jordan. Jordan looked up and down the path, worry visible on his face.

"I think we should stick to the path. We could come across another person, or a place to stay," Jordan said.

"It's only nine am though," Steven said in confusion.

"Just in case we need someplace to fall back on," Jordan said, forcing a smile. Steven looked at him and frowned and then Jordan started to walk, prompting everyone to follow. Aleks cast one more glance the row of bodies and felt sick to the stomach. _Whatever did that made short work of them. What if it's still there?_

"Come on!" Eddie yelled. Seamus blinked and then ran up the hill to catch up, and Aleks followed. Anything to get away from those bodies.


	13. Bonding Over Insults

**Easter Eggs ahoy!**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWELVE: BONDING OVER INSULTS**

_October 9th, 2014_

Against better sense, they walked for the rest of the day and through the night. They passed a wooden sign with a smiling tree waving, welcoming them into a camping zone. Further up the gravel road, there was a dark log administration office. Eddie ran ahead to check it for zombies and then beckoned everyone inside. The inside was a pleasant room, with an oriental rug thrown in front of the fireplace with plush arm chairs scattered around the room, small tables occasionally at their sides. There was a counter with a dusty, unused computer and a guest book and a locked office behind. There was a small hallway branching off to the bathrooms and an information room, and it hand overall cosy feel. It was around two am and everyone was exhausted. Eddie and Seamus half-heartedly locked the doors and windows before everyone collapsed into arm chairs.

"Do we light the fireplace?" Dan asked, shivering.

"Don't risk it," Jordan said. His skin was pale and he was sweating from over doing it, breathing heavily. Eddie was inspecting the office door and Aleks was rifling through the counter's drawers.

"It's locked," Eddie said, jiggling the doorknob. "Or it's rusted or something."

"I can't find a key," Aleks said, looking up and frowning. "Guess we'll have to leave it." Eddie smiled and pulled out a knife, sliding it between the door and the frame. Then he slid it downwards, fast and hard. There was a snap of metal and Eddie pulled his knife out, the door swinging open. Eddie's smile widened and he bowed.

"I found the key," he giggled. Aleks stared at him, shaking his head slowly.

"You're insane," Aleks muttered. Eddie shrugged and walked into the office, whistling slowly.

"I think this guy was into hunting," he said lowly as Aleks followed him in. Various stuffed heads lined the wall above yet another fireplace and paintings of hunting scenes adorned the space around the door. A polished wooden desk rested atop an ornate rug, a large painting of a deer behind the plush chair.

"Wow," Aleks said. "I think he was." Eddie walked over to the chair and flopped in it, spinning in a circle.

"This is really uncomfortable," he sighed. "This guy has no taste." He stood up and looked around, brightening.

"Cabinet!" he sang. He walked up to it and opened it, smiling wider. "Bingo! Blankets. Perfect," Eddie said. "I'll go hand these out." Eddie moved to walk past and Aleks grabbed his arm, stopping him. Eddie stilled.

"Eddie," Aleks said softly. "Are you feeling alright?" Eddie let out a small breath, not meeting Aleks' gaze.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked quietly. He straightened, shifting the weight of the blankets in his arms. "No. I'm not alright. I'm tired and scared and…" he paused. "Jordan scared the shit out of me. He was dead and then Steven managed to get him breathing again, and in that moment where we were all standing at that stupid table and he wasn't moving I wondered what would happen if he properly died." He went silent.

"And?" Aleks prompted.

"There was nothing to think about," Eddie whispered. "There's no point in going on if he dies." Aleks dropped his arm, eyes wide.

"Are you…" Aleks trailed off. Eddie squared his shoulders and smiled.

"When you spend so much time trying to make everyone happy, you don't realise you're unhappy," Eddie said, his eyes clouded but his smile still bright. "I'm trying so hard." He kept walking, scooting around the counter and holding his arms up triumphantly.

"I got blankets!" he sang.

"Yes!" Dan said. Eddie threw a blanket on his head, passed on to Jordan, left one by Steven and then dropped the rest of the pile on Seamus, taking two extras.

"Aleks!" Eddie said. "Hurry up, I got you a blanket!" Eddie smiled at him and Aleks stared at him, giving him a confused smile.

"Uh, thanks," Aleks said, closing the office door behind him and walking over. He cautiously took the blanket and sat down in a free chair, still staring at Eddie. He'd gone from sad to happy in a second: his default fall back.

His fall back was going to kill him.

* * *

There was a cold draught coming in from somewhere and it was making the room freezing. Eddie was sprawled out in a chair with his blanket on the ground, continuously tossing and turning, his face in a constant grimace. Seamus resembled a burrito, wrapped up in his own blanket but lying on the ground, scowling. It wasn't a surprise. He was always scowling. Steven had buried inside his blanket and had his jacket around his shoulders, his knees up to his chest. It couldn't be comfortable, but he was asleep. Aleks would've thought that with his history, he'd have the worst nightmares. But Steven was peaceful compared to the rest of them. Jordan's knuckles had gone white he was clenching his fists so hard, a death grip on the hem of his jumper, his eyes fluttering but not opening. Aleks had the feeling he was trying to wake up. Dan was occasionally muttering in his sleep, turning restlessly. They were all suffering silently, and Aleks felt horrible. He had gone through his fair share of the dreams, during the first months after the end began and when Jakey died. He still heard him screaming, and more often than not Dex showed up in his dreams.

"You awake?" someone muttered. Aleks jumped, startled, and squinted in the dark room. Dan was looking at him, his smile crooked. "Sorry."

"It's fine," Aleks said quietly. "You just freaked me out for a second. You were asleep before." Dan shrugged and stood up, letting the blanket fall back on the couch. He cast a quick glance at Jordan, whose grip on his jumper seemed to have tightened.

"I'm going to have a walk up the back," Dan said. "Do you wanna come?"

"Sure," Aleks replied. He unwrapped himself quickly and stood up, hating the creaking noise the floor made. Seamus rolled over and Aleks walked over to Dan, following him down the dark hall. Dan shoved open on of the doors and Aleks felt cold air run by.

"There's a deck out here," Dan explained as he waited for Aleks to pass through, closing the door gently.

"Funny. I thought that door led to a closet," Aleks said. "I was getting really concerned on where you were taking me." Dan rolled his eyes but smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I like it out here. It's fenced off so you don't have to worry and you have a nice view," Dan said. "I didn't realise that this place backed right off the edge of a hill. From the front it looks normal."

"Huh," Aleks said, walking over to the railing. It was cold metal but Aleks ignored it, wrapping his fingers around it. It helped wake him up.

"When do you think the sun is gonna rise?" Dan asked.

"Dunno. I think its three am," Aleks answered, frowning. "I barely slept."

"I don't enjoy sleeping as much now," Dan admitted. "Nothing changes. It's basically going from one hell to another."

"Pretty much," Aleks sighed. "The nightmares suck." They lapsed into silence and Aleks stared out into the gap. It was foggy and dark, and he couldn't see the bottom. It just dropped off dramatically.

"What was James like?" Dan asked suddenly. Aleks tensed, his grip tightening on the bar. Aleks paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts.

"He was a great friend," Aleks said, choosing his words carefully. "We were only roommates for a while but we met in high school. He was funny and rude but most of the time he was quiet. He got loud if you pissed him off though."

"He sounds like a good guy," Dan sighed. "We lost too many good people. Not many left."

"Do you consider yourself a good person?" Aleks asked. Dan snorted.

"Hell no. I'm a horrible excuse for a human being," he chuckled. "I've killed things and people. It's practically murder."

"Zombies aren't alive anymore," Aleks pointed it out. "That doesn't count as murder."

"Things were really bad when everything first happened," Dan said, his voice hard. "I had to do things I'm not proud of, and I wish it went differently." Aleks looked down at his hands, shuddering from the cold.

"I regret giving Jakey the gun," Aleks said softly. "I wish I didn't. I know that it's horrible, but I… sometimes I wish he just became a zombie. Then I would've been able to kill his body, end of story. Because I don't think it would've been Jakey anymore. It would've just been his body. That's what I'm riding my hopes on."

"You think all they leave behind is their body?" Dan asked. Aleks nodded, looking over at him.

"Do you think something else happens?" Aleks said, and Dan shook his head.

"No. I think the same thing because it's easier to think of it that way," Dan said quickly. "I don't like the idea of them still being there when they die. It's one thing that's stopped me for a while."

"What do you mean stopped?" Aleks asked, frowning. Dan let out a long breath, averting his gaze.

"Multiple times, I thought about it. How much easier it would be to just give up," Dan said quietly. "It's crossed all of our minds at one point, and you can't tell me you didn't think about it at least once." Aleks flinched, thinking back to the days after Jakey's death. He'd thought the same thing and had come close to it.

"Everyone has a coping mechanism, but I could never find one," Dan said. "Seamus acts like a bitch. Eddie laughs. Steven plays with his kit. Dex… he acted strong. But I never found out what I could do to try and… block it out. So I just shouldered it and went with it. But it doesn't work anymore." Dan fell silent and Aleks studied his face. He looked sad. Aleks had never understood Dan in that way: he let his emotions play out on his face. He wasn't guarded and he let everyone know how he felt. Aleks had gotten so used to clamming up that he didn't understand how Dan could do it. How could he let everyone know what he was feeling?

"You'll figure it out," Aleks said, leaving out the 'someday'. That never helped. Dan laughed, finally smiling.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be dying by the time I figure it out," he said. "One of those last minute thoughts, like 'oh shit I know the meaning of life' or something like that." Aleks chuckled along with him before sobering.

"The meaning of life had better be grand, because I'm not going through all this crap for something that sucks," Aleks said seriously. "I'm expecting some spiritual mansion for me to live in with a bunch of hot chicks in bikinis."

"I'm pretty sure my idea of heaven is Gotham City," Dan joked. "I'll die and then wake up in the middle of the street with Batman, and it's going to be awesome." Aleks laughed and leaned against the railing, turning on his hip to face Dan.

"I'll have to come say hi in the Bat Cave. I'll bring some of my babes along," he added. "Then we can have a party or something."

"And then Seamus will fly in from nowhere and say we're not being safe," Dan laughed.

"He's such a grumpy asshole," Aleks sighed, still laughing. "Remember that movie? The Rise of the Guardians with the Russian Santa and Jack Frost?"

"Yeah," Dan said. "That was a good movie. Russian Santa was great." Then his eyes narrowed. "Of course the first thing you point out is Russian Santa, you self-absorbed prick."

"That's not the point!" Aleks protested, holding up his hands. "I'm thinking about the Jack Frost guy, and how he threw a snowball in a kids face and then they're laughing hysterically like they're high. Do you think that work on Seamus?" Dan laughed.

"As if! He'd probably just punch him in the face," Dan said, trying not to laugh anymore. "He'd tell him not to throw things around, because he'd knock someone out."

"What is it with him and bossing people around?" Aleks asked. "Telling everyone to shut up in case the zombies hear and then storming out on Eddie when he took us out. He's like a whiney kid."

"I think it comes from good intentions," Dan said, shrugging. "He doesn't want anyone to die, but he has no people skills whatever, so he just defaults to grumpy dickhead."

"A sarcastic grumpy dickhead," Aleks added.

"A pissy, sarcastic grumpy dickhead," Dan said with the hint of a challenge in his voice. "Beat that."

"Um… a bitchy, butt-hurt, pissy sarcastic grumpy dickhead," Aleks decided. Dan snorted.

"Butt-hurt?" he laughed. "Where the hell did butt-hurt come from?"

"I don't know!" Aleks laughed. "I ran out of words! How do you even describe Seamus?"

"I think your version was pretty good," Dan said. "We should make him put it on his resume."

"Professional asshole," Aleks said, trying to keep a straight face. "We can make him business cards!"

"'Seamus O'Doherty: bitching, butt-hurt, pissy sarcastic dickhead and Professional asshole," Dan said grandly. "We're going to need big business cards to fit it all in." They both laughed at their thoughts.

"Why is it so much fun making fun of him?" Aleks asked, still giggling. "We're horrible people."

"Why stop now?" Dan said innocently. "We're already horrible people, let's amp it up to horrifying."

"Doesn't it all mean the same thing?" Aleks asked, brow furrowed, and Dan shrugged.

"I don't even know," he said. Then he shivered. "Jesus, I'm freezing. Do you wanna go back inside?"

"Sure," Aleks replied. "I've lost feeling in my fingers.

"Probably because you're holding that bar," Dan pointed out. Aleks peeled his hands away and shook them out, shuddering.

"This feels so weird," he muttered. Dan laughed.

"Come, let's go," he said. He walked to the door and pushed it open quietly, peering in. "Everyone's still asleep. Quiet." Aleks followed and they stood in front of the door, the cold breeze finally shut out. Aleks felt slightly disappointed: they had to go from laughing and enjoying themselves to quiet as to not disturb the others.

"That was fun," Aleks said under his breath. "Talking and joking, it felt nice."

"It felt normal, that's why," Dan said softly. "Normal always feels good." Dan sighed and studied the walls, frowning.

"Look at this," he said. "It's called the thank you wall. I remember it from when I camped up here once," he walked over and wiped some dust off one of the frames. "Families that came and stayed. They would take a photo of their family or of them doing of the activities and put it up in here. I was looking at it earlier. There's this one family that has a photo up for most years, and you can see the kids growing." Dan smiled faintly, touching the frame.

"This one?" Aleks asked.

"Yeah. The mum has blonde hair and the dad's tall. They have the little kid who doesn't smile," Dan explained. "And when they have the daughter, another family joins in. See?" Dan traced his hand along the wall, showing Aleks the line of photos. "And then this last one. They added two more people." Aleks stared at it and smiled. The first boy looked around sixteen and was sitting on a rock with the two young girls beside him, a fair-skinned girl which was probably his sister and a dark skinned one from the other family. His parents stood behind them, smiling, and the other parents were beside them. Then there was one more adult wedged in between, smiling, and then the other boy: an unsmiling kid with dark hair, glaring at the camera and standing beside the parents of the other little girl.

"He doesn't look happy," Aleks pointed out.

"Look how far apart the two boys are," Dan said. "They must've had a fight or something, because they look the same age. Maybe they're friends." Aleks stared at the photo for a little longer with Dan, taking in the family shot. The two little girls were in matching swimsuits and the frowning boy had his arms crossed over his chest, still wearing a shirt when everyone else was in swimwear.

"It's interesting," Dan said finally. "Being able to see into their lives. What do you think happened to them?" Aleks didn't want to answer that question and Dan seemed grateful he didn't. They both already knew what happened to them, because it had happened to countless other families. How long ago had it just been Aleks in the broken apartment, dreaming up a future for the family in the pictures? The father who didn't get to grow old with his wife, forced into taking care of two kids himself. The girl who wouldn't get a mother and the boy who wouldn't have had anyone to hug of a night.

"I wonder if anyone ever went to my apartment after I left," Aleks thought aloud. "The place was a mess and my room is full of games. The only photos we had on the walls were from concerts and gatherings and stuff me and James went to."

"They might've seen two kids," Dan shrugged. "We'll never know what they thought."

"It's such a depressing thought though," Aleks sighed. "So many people don't get to finish off their photo walls when they should've been allowed to. This ruined the world."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Dan said softly. "I'm going to see if I can sleep for a little longer." Dan walked down the hall and Aleks looked at the photo one more time before following. Eddie had rolled off his chair was hunched up on the floor beside Seamus, snoring lightly. Steven was still buried away and Seamus was still in burrito mode, and Jordan probably wouldn't be able to feel his hands in the morning. Aleks stepped over Eddie's flung out arm and flopped on his chair, pulling the blanket close around him. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but he couldn't turn off his brain. He kept thinking about that picture timeline and the families that didn't get to come back for another year. Their lives had been abruptly ended and it wasn't fair. Why did Aleks get to keep living when that family, the two innocent girls and the teenager boys and the happy parents, they didn't get to finish their lives properly? It ruined their lives. They wouldn't get the chance. Jordan cried out suddenly, his eyes scrunching up. But he still couldn't wake up.

Another ruined life.


End file.
